Forever friends, path to becoming a Pokemon Master
by Skye410
Summary: There is an old prophecy that has been foretold, and Skye keeps trying to believe it isnt her. She starts her Pokemon journey and it becomes more trouble than she ever thought. What will happen when she really is the one that has to save the world?
1. The Prophecy

_Evil-Doers will awaken the two Legendary Pokemon,_

_The one from the land,_

_And the one from the sea._

_Kyogre and Groudon will come in conflict,_

_And the fighting will last eternally._

_The world will suffer the chaos,_

_And everything will die._

_But there is only one hope,_

_And so the world must turn to Skye._

_The Chosen One alone will not be enough to quell the fighting,_

_Meaning the help of the Legendary Flying Pokemon must be obtained,_

_To restore peace and rescue the world from its demise._

"_**And so the world must turn to Skye**__"_


	2. The Journey Begins

"See ya, mum!"

"Wait! Skye!"

I stopped and turned around to see my mother rushing after me. She handed me a bag. "You can't forget this!"

"Oh, my sleeping bag, of course," I laughed. "Can't forget that! Thanks mum." I shoved it in my bag.

My mum sighed. "First it was your brother, now you. Please be careful, Skye."

"I will, I promise," I murmured. "But I have to go or I'll be late!"

"Okay, bye dear," my mum had tears in her eyes as I turned and ran out the door with my bag on my back. I nearly tripped over at the door, but I quickly regained my balance and continued running.

"Bye!" I called over my shoulder as I ran towards the laboratory. Today would be the day I got my trainer's license to become a Pokemon Trainer.

I ran through the town and found the laboratory at once. Littleroot Town was small enough to find everything.

I walked through the large doors and into the large room. "Hello? Is anybody here?" I looked around but no one was there.

Someone appeared from behind a giant bookshelf, but it wasn't who I was looking for. "Oh, hello, Skye. If you're looking for Professor Birch, he's not here. He's out in the field studying again."

"Just outside of Littleroot?" I asked.

He nodded. "Go find him."

I nodded in return and ran out of the laboratory, towards the exit of Littleroot Town. I ran up a path, but I saw an anxious little girl standing in the middle of the path. I stopped beside her. "Hey, are you okay, kid?"

"There are strange noises out there," the small child replied. "I want to go see what's going on, but I'm scared and I don't have any Pokemon with me. Can you go look for me?"

"Sure," I smiled. "I was heading out there anyway. I'll be back soon to tell you."

The girl watched me as I continued to run up the path. I also heard strange noises, they were the cries of Pokemon.

"Somebody help me!"

I gasped when I heard someone call out and I stopped when I found a bag at the base of a tree. I looked around and saw a man in a white lab coat, pressed up against a large rock with a group of wild Poochyena surrounding him.

"Skye!" the man called. "Please, can you help me? There's a Pokeball in my bag. Can you use it to get these Pokemon away?"

"Sure! Hang on, Professor Birch!" I called back and crouched down, opening the bag, but there was four Pokeballs. My hand scanned over each one, unsure of which one to take. I knew they all contained Pokemon,well, I was a little bit sure, but I didn't know which one was which.

"Please, hurry, Skye!" the Professor was in big trouble, those Poochyena could tear him apart, they looked pretty hungry.

I gulped and grabbed a Pokeball. I stood up and ran closer to the group. The Poochyena turned and looked at me, forgetting all about the Professor. They were small dog-like creatures with black/gray fur and their ears were pricked up.

I took a deep breath and threw the Pokeball. "Pokeball, go!" I shouted.

The ball hit the ground in front of the Poochyena and they took a few steps back as it opened up with a red light.

The red light dimmed and a small, yellow Pokemon with a lightning tail, long ears with black at the end, two brown stripes on its back, red cheeks and a cute face, appeared. It shook itself and stood up straight, ready to fight. "Pikachu!" it growled.

"Alright. Pikachu, we have to help Professor Birch," I said. "Will you help me?"

The Pikachu nodded, of course it would help the Professor. "Pika!"

"Okay. Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" I ordered.

Pikachu ran at the wild Poochyena with incredible speed. Before it hit, I called another command. "Now, use Agility!"

"Pika!" Pikachu replied and started running in circles around the group, still using the speed from the Quick Attack.

The Poochyena were trying to keep track of Pikachu, but it was too fast and they were getting dizzy.

"Finish it, Pikachu!" I called. "Use Thundershock!"

Pikachu stopped running in circles around the Poochyena and they looked at it. Pikachu smiled. "Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Electricity came from its cheeks and surrounded the little yellow Pokemon. Then it came off of it and went after the Poochyena.

The Poochyena were electrocuted and they ran away in fear. Pikachu stood proudly and I breathed with relief. "Good job, Pikachu. Return," I held up the Pokeball and a red light beamed from the center button. It engulfed Pikachu and it went inside the ball.

I walked over to Professor Birch. "Are you alright, Professor?" I asked, handing him the Pokeball.

The Professor nodded. "Thank you, Skye. You were great in that battle."

I nodded my thanks.

"You've come to see me about getting your first Pokemon, am I right?"

"Yes, sir," I murmured. "One of the scientists said you were out here so I came looking for you."

My long shoulder-length black and red hair swayed in the sudden breeze and the Professor looked like he was thinking. "Come back to the laboratory with me."

He grabbed his bag and I followed him back to Littleroot Town. I stopped when I saw the little girl still standing on the path, looking up at me with questioning eyes. "It's okay, kid," I smiled. "It was just a Pokemon battle. Nothing to worry about."

"Okay, thank you," the girl turned and ran off.

I smiled and continued to follow Professor Birch. We reached the laboratory and we walked inside, going over to a desk. Professor Birch put his bag on the desk and took out the remaining three Pokeballs, placing them in a row on the desk. He put the one containing the Pikachu at the end on the far left-hand side.

"You showed great courage today," Professor Birch smiled. "But now it is time for you to choose your very first Pokemon to start off your journey."

He let out all the Pokemon from the four Pokeballs, first Pikachu, second was a Mudkip, a small blue Water Type Pokemon that stood on all fours. Third was a Treecko, a green Grass Type Pokemon with a branch in its mouth that stood on its back legs. The last one was a Torchic, a red Fire Type, sort of like a chicken Pokemon, it stood on its two back legs, flapping its small wings.

I looked at all four of the Pokemon.

"Which one will you choose?" Professor Birch asked.

I looked at all of them carefully, but my eyes rested on Pikachu. "I choose Pikachu. I've already used it in battle, I think we'll become great friends. We'd make a really good team!"

"Well, Pikachu's nickname is actually Sparky," Professor Birch smiled. "When I caught it, its cheeks always had sparks coming off them."

I nodded. "Okay then, Sparky. How would you like to tag along with me?"

Sparky nodded. "Pi, Pikachu!" it cheered.

"Here," the Professor said and handed me a few things. He gave me six Pokeballs and another device.

I took them and put the Pokeballs on my belt. Sparky jumped up on my shoulder and I opened the gadget. "What is it?" I asked.

"Pika," Sparky mumbled.

"That is a Pokedex," Professor Birch explained. "It knows everything about every Pokemon. If you point it at a Pokemon it will explain."

I pointed it at Mudkip. "Mudkip, the Mud Fish Pokemon," the Pokedex said in a female voice. "They are a small blue Pokemon with a large fin on their head that allows them to sense movements within the air and water, acting as a radar. While in the water, they use the orange, spiky gills on their cheeks to breathe while using their large tail fin to propel themselves. They are extremely strong, despite their small bodies; they are able to lift or crush large boulders. When sleeping, they bury themselves within the soil at the edge of the water."

"Wow," I murmured, pointing it at Treecko.

"Treecko, the gecko Pokemon. Very cool and calm, Treecko never panic under any situation; if a larger Pokemon glares at a Treecko, it glares right back without conceding an inch of ground. Treecko make their nests in giant trees in forests, guarding against anything nearing their territory by attacking with their tails. They are said to be the protectors of the trees of the forest. Treecko are able to scale vertical walls using the small hooks on the bottom of their feet. They are able to predict the day's weather using their tails."

"Hooks on their feet?" I was confused.

"They do," Professor Birch nodded. "You just can't see them."

I nodded and pointed the Pokedex at Torchic. "Torchic, the tiny bird Pokemon. It is a small, clumsy bird, covered by a fluffy coat of down feathers. Before Torchic's legs develop fully, it stays with their Pokemon Trainer, following behind with unsteady, hopping steps while it learns to walk properly. It attacks by spitting 1,800 degree fire formed in a special pouch in its stomach. This pouch constantly heats its body, allowing it to give "warm hugs". It dislikes darkness due to not being able to see its surroundings."

"Pika," Sparky mumbled.

"Torchic-chick!" Torchic growled back at my Pokemon.

"Are you being mean, Sparky?" I asked.

"Pika-chu, Pi!" Sparky shook its head quickly.

"Torchic-tor!" Torchic protested.

Sparky poked its tongue out at Torchic.

"Torchic!" Torchic growled and spat an Ember attack at Sparky.

I quickly ducked down and Sparky clung on to my shoulder, luckily we both avoided getting hurt.

"Alright, alright," Professor Birch sighed. "Torchic, return."

Torchic was sucked back inside the Pokeball and the Professor returned the other two as well. "Skye, now that you're all set, you may go and start your journey," he said.

I smiled and nodded. "You ready, Sparky?"

Sparky nodded and jumped off my shoulder. We ran out of the laboratory side by side. "See ya, Professor!" I said.

"Pi-Pikachu!" Sparky called.

"Bye you two," the Professor replied. "Good luck!"

Sparky and I ran out of Littleroot Town and headed up towards Oldale Town.

"I can't wait until we have a proper Pokemon battle," I smiled. "Can you, Sparky?"

"Pi-Pikachu!" Sparky smiled in return.

We stopped when we got to Oldale town and we looked around, I saw a group of three people, they looked like trainers, two guys and a girl. They looked like they were trying to find something.

"Pikachu!" one of the guys called, he had a black jacket with a yellow stripe across the front and white sleeves, he also had blue jeans. He had a red hat with black in the middle and a picture that looked like the top of a Pokeball on to cover his scruffy black hair. "Pikachu! Where are you buddy?!"

"Think they lost one of their Pokemon?" I wondered.

"Pika," Sparky shrugged.

"Hey!" the guy ran over to us. "Pikachu, are you okay?"

"Pika," Sparky looked confused.

"Uh, sorry, but this is my Pokemon," I said. "I just got Sparky ten minutes ago from the Professor's lab in Littleroot Town."

The guy looked really upset. "Oh. Sorry," he murmured and went back to his friends. They shrugged and they took off towards the North exit of Oldale Town.

Sparky and I looked at each other and we both shrugged. "I could've asked them if they wanted help but, I guess they don't need any. Come on, Sparky, let's keep going."

Sparky and I left Oldale Town by the West exit and into the forest.

We walked deeper and deeper into the forest and I thought that we had gotten lost.

"PIKACHU!!!!!!!!"

"Did you hear that, Sparky?" I asked. It was distant, but I was sure I head it.

Sparky nodded. "Pika, Pi."

"Let's go find out," I murmured and we ran ahead, deeper into the dark forest.

"PIKACHU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I heard again, it was closer this time.

Sparky was ahead of me by a few steps, and it was the first one to get into the clearing. I stopped when Sparky did, and I saw a little yellow Pokemon that looked a lot like mine. "It's a Pikachu," I murmured.

The Pokemon looked lost and it was looking around, then it spotted us.

"Hey there, Pikachu," I kept my voice quiet. "Are you lost?"

The Pikachu nodded. "Pika-chu...." it dropped its head.

"Pika, Pikachu!" Sparky said, pointing in the direction of Oldale Town.

"You think this Pikachu is the one that guy was after?" I asked. Sparky nodded.

"Pika?" the Pikachu pricked its ears.

I looked back at the Pikachu. "Say. Do you have a trainer?"

Pikachu nodded.

"Does he have black scruffy hair with a red hat, a black jacket and blue jeans?"

Pikachu looked more excited and it nodded its head quickly. "Pika!"

"We saw them not long ago," I smiled. "If you want, Sparky and I could take you back to them."

Pikachu ran over to us with a happy face. It stopped at my feet and tugged on my gray jeans, a sudden look of worry on its face.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Oh, Pikachu. Where are you?" came a female's voice and two people stepped out of the bushes with a Meowth.

They saw me with Pikachu and Sparky. "There's two Pikachu!?" the Meowth exclaimed.

"It talks?" I murmured.

"Pika, Pikachu!" Pikachu hid behind me.

"Hey, kid, hand over that Pikachu!" the man with blue hair demanded. The woman had long red hair.

"Why should I hand it over to you?" I growled. Pikachu jumped up on my shoulder, its lightning tail brushing against my black hooded shirt.

"That Pokemon belongs to our boss!" the woman growled. It was only then I noticed their white clothing.

The woman had a white shirt with a white mini-skirt. She had black boots that went all the way up to the skirt, and black gloves that went to her elbows. The man had a white, long-sleeve shirt with black gloves reaching half way up his lower arm, long black pants with black boots that reached half way up his lower leg. On the front of both of their shirts was a big red 'R'.

"Well, apparently, this Pikachu belongs to a trainer," I told them. "And most likely not you."

"Do you even know who we are, you little pest!?" the woman growled at me.

"Uh...... no.... I don't think so," I pretended to look like I was thinking. "I only started as a Pokemon Trainer so I don't think I've ever seen you before."

"Just started as a Pokemon Trainer?" the man smiled. "This kid should be easy to beat then."

"Let's take her out!" the Meowth said.

"Alright, go, Seviper!" the woman threw a Pokeball and out came a big black snake with a purple tail.

"Go, Cacnea!" the man threw a Pokeball too and a small green Pokemon appeared with needles on its arms.

"Two against one?" I growled. "That's not fair!"

"We never play fair, little girl," the woman smiled.

"Who are you anyway?" I asked.

"Then let us introduce ourselves formally," the woman smiled. "Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!" the man added.

"To protect the world from woodland pests!" the woman said.

"To capture creatures from their nests!" the man added again.

"To ensnare Pikachu in my net!"

"And anything else we can get!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket grabs the goods at the speed of light!"

"Surrender to me, give up trying to flee, or we'll fight!"

"Meowth that's right!" the Meowth said.

"Wobbuffet!" out came a big blue Pokemon from Jessie's Pokeball.

I tilted my head. "Team Rocket? Humph, never heard of ya. See ya."

I turned and started walking away. "Come on, Sparky."

Sparky turned and followed me, Pikachu remained on my shoulder.

"You're not getting away that easily, twerp!" Jessie growled. "Seviper, Poison Tail!"

"Seviper!" the giant snake said and Sparky turned around, so did I.

"Alright, have it your way!" I growled as the snake's tail glowed purple as it came at us. "Sparky, use Thundershock!"

Sparky ran ahead a little and stood its ground.

"Cacnea, use Pin Missile!" James commanded.

"Cacnea!" it said and held its arms out. White strings shot from the needles on its hands.

Both attacks came at Sparky. "Sparky, dodge it!" I called.

Pikachu jumped down and stood beside me, watching Sparky with a worried expression.

Sparky jumped into the air, dodging both attacks.

"Use Thundershock!" I called. "You can do it, Sparky!"

Sparky looked angry. "Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" electricity shot from its body and flew at the two Pokemon, hitting them both.

The two Pokemon fell back but got up again. Sparky landed in front of me.

"Seviper, use Bite!" Jessie ordered.

"Cacnea, Pin Missile again!" James shouted.

The attacks came again.

"I can't fight them both," I murmured. "Sparky, dodge it!"

Sparky dodged Seviper's Bite attack, but was hit with Canea's Pin Missile.

"Sparky!" I called.

Sparky struggled to its feet, but shook itself off. "Pika!" it was getting angry.

"Seviper, use Poison Tail!" Jessie said.

"Pin Missile, Cacnea!" James ordered.

"Sparky, use Quick Attack!" I called.

Sparky ran forward at a fast speed and tried to dodge the attacks, but was hit with the Pin Missile again. Sparky was thrown backwards.

"Get it, Seviper!" Jessie growled.

Seviper came at Sparky with its glowing tail, ready to use Poison Tail."

"Sparky!" I called.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"

Suddenly, Pikachu left my side and ran over to help Sparky. Just as Seviper threw its tail towards Sparky, Pikachu's tail shone white and it jumped up, spun, and the two tails collided.

"What the!?" I murmured, but then a boy appeared beside me. I looked at him, it was the boy that approached me in Oldale Town!

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" he ordered.

Pikachu stood beside Sparky and Sparky got up.

I thought for a moment. "Sparky! Help out by using Thundershock!"

Sparky and Pikachu stood side by side.

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" they both said and electricity exploded from their bodies, hitting both Seviper and Cacnea.

The two Pokemon hit Jessie, James and Meowth and they all fell over.

"I'll take it from here," the boy smiled. "Pikachu, use Bolt Tackle!"

_Bolt Tackle_? I thought and watched as the Pikachu started running over to Team Rocket.

"Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika!" it said quickly as it ran over to them. Its whole body was covered in electricity and it ran a little faster. "Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika!" it head butted Team Rocket. "Pik-A!"

There was an explosion and Team Rocket were thrown up into the air. "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" Team Rocket said together and they were gone.

"Wow," I murmured. "Thanks for helping me out there," I turned to the boy and he smiled at me.

"No problem," he replied. "You were the girl I met in Oldale Town, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

He smiled. "Thanks for finding Pikachu for me."

"It was nothing," I ducked my head at such gratitude.

"My name's Ash Ketchum," he said. "And these are my friends, Brock and Sara." He nodded to the other two people he had been with earlier.

"I'm Skye. Nice to meet you."

"Before you said that you only got your Pikachu not that long ago," Ash said. "So, are you a brand new Pokemon Trainer?"

I nodded. "I'm surprised it wasn't obvious by my battle display," I hung my head.

"Don't worry about it," Ash smiled and put a hand on my shoulder. "Once you get the hang of it, you'll be an awesome trainer."

"Thanks," I looked up at him.

Pikachu and Sparky came back. Pikachu and Sparky jumped up on our shoulders, facing each other.

"Why don't you tag along with us?" Ash suggested.

"Yeah," Sara smiled. "That would be great!"

"We could teach you a little more about battling and becoming a Pokemon Trainer."

I smiled. "I'd like that. Thank you."

"Well, let's get going then," Brock said. "It's a long way to Petalburg City. We might have to camp out tonight."

"Come on," Ash said and I followed my new group of friends through the forest.

"So, who were those Team Rocket guys?" I asked.

"They're idiots!" Sara was suddenly using a growling tone. "All they want to do is follow us around and take every opportunity they can to try and steal Pikachu. They have nothing better to do."

I flinched and looked at Ash beside me. "Did I say something wrong?"

Ash shook his head. "No, she just gets like this sometimes."

"Excuse me!?" Sara turned her head to look at Ash. "I do not, thank you very much!"

Ash also flinched. "Okay, that was the wrong thing to say."

Sara grumbled something and crossed her arms. She had black hair with bits of blue in it, a dark blue shirt and black pants.

We walked for a long time and the sky was turning dark.

"We should settle down for the night," Brock murmured. "Sara, can you go get some water and Ash, you can go get the firewood."

The two trainers nodded and walked off.

"Skye, would you mind helping me set up the table?" Brock asked.

"Of course," I replied at once and he took out a square thing from his bag. "That's a table?"

Brock pressed a button and it opened up to be bigger. I smiled. "Fair enough."

I helped Brock set up the, big, table and I put the plates and cutlery onto it while he got out a pot.

Sara came back with the water, and Ash wasn't much longer with the firewood.

Brock got the fire started and put the water in the pot. Then he started making dinner while the rest of us sat down at the table to wait.

"So is Sparky the only Pokemon you have?" Sara asked.

I nodded. "But I'll need a lot more Pokemon if I want to compete in gym battles."

"You too, huh?" Ash smiled. "I'm also going for gym battles."

"Cool!" I smiled back. "How many different regions have you been to?"

"Well, Brock and I came from the Kanto region," Ash said. "Since then we've been to Johto, the Orange Islands and now Hoenn. Sara comes from the Sinnoh region, but she's traveled to Johto too, that's where we met her."

"Have you been in every gym battle in those regions?"

Ash nodded. "And Sara is competing in contests."

"Really?" I looked at Sara. "I thought you'd be a gym battle person."

Sara smiled and shook her head. "I love Pokemon Contests! It's great to be able to show your Pokemon's power and at the same time, make them look beautiful."

"She's competed in the Johto region only so far," Brock said. "But she's aiming to enter every contest in Hoenn."

"That's amazing. So, what do you do, Brock?" I asked. "Ash competes in gym battles, Sara goes for contests, what about you?"

"I'm aiming to be the best Pokemon Breeder," Brock replied.

"Wow."

"Looks like we have company," Brock murmured and I heard a small growl.

I turned around in my seat and saw a little Poochyena, smaller than the ones I had faced earlier to help Professor Birch.

It growled at us, trying to scare us off, we just blinked at it.

"Pika?" Sparky jumped from the table and walked over to it. Poochyena backed off a little bit, growling.

"It's scared of us," I murmured.

"It looks hungry," Sara pointed out.

Sparky stood on all fours, Poochyena was a little bit smaller than Sparky.

"Skye, why don't you catch it," Ash said to me.

"But I don't know how to catch a Pokemon!" I exclaimed.

"I'll guide you through it," Ash smiled. "First you'll need to get Sparky to fight it."

I nodded and stood up. "Okay, Sparky. Let's do this!"

Sparky looked at me and back at Poochyena. "Pika!"

Poochyena growled.

"Quick Attack!" I ordered.

Sparky ran at Poochyena and head butted it whilst using its speed.

Poochyena cringed and ran at Pikachu.

"It's using Tackle!" Ash called. "Intercept it!"

"Got it," I said. "Sparky, you use Tackle too!"

Sparky ran at Poochyena and they both collided. They both fell back, but Sparky was stronger than Poochyena.

"Finish it, Skye!" Ash said.

I nodded. "Sparky, Thundershock!"

"Pika!" Sparky nodded and got ready."Pika-CHUUU!!!!!"

Poochyena was hit and I knew it couldn't fight anymore.

"Now, throw a Pokeball!" Ash told me.

"Right!" I grabbed a Pokeball from my belt and threw it. "Go, Pokeball!"

The Pokeball hit Poochyena on the head and it opened up. A red beam of light came out and surrounded Poochyena, and then it was sucked into the ball.

The ball closed and it wobbled around for a little bit.

"Did I catch it?" I asked.

"Wait and we'll find out," Brock replied.

I watched the ball wobble continuously, but then it stopped.

"Now did I catch it?" I asked.

"Yep," Sara smiled.

"That was great, Skye!" Ash said.

"Pi, Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered.

I walked over to the Pokeball, Sparky was sniffing it. "You did great, Sparky," I smiled and picked up the Pokeball. "Awesome! I now have a Poochyena! My first catch!"

"Congratulations, Skye," Brock said.

"Can I let it out now?" I asked.

Ash nodded and I threw the ball. "Alright, Poochyena, come on out!"

The ball hit the ground and opened up, Poochyena came out. "Pooch, Poochyena!" it said and walked over to me, sitting down in front of me.

I smiled and knelt down to pat it on the head. "You must be hungry, huh?"

"Pooch!" Poochyena nodded.

"Well, dinner's ready now anyway," Brock smiled. "Ash, can you grab an extra bowl for Poochyena?"

"Sure," Ash said and went and got one.

After a few minutes, we were all sitting at the table eating dinner. Pikachu, Sparky and Poochyena were on the ground, eating their share of dinner, talking away happily.

"This is delicious!" I exclaimed. "How do you cook so well, Brock?"

Brock smiled. "Well, I do want to be a Pokemon Breeder. I guess it comes naturally for me."

"Well it's amazing."

Ash and Sara smiled. "Yeah, you'll get used to his amazing cooking after a while."

"That's fine with me," I smiled and continued eating Brock's amazing soup.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

I opened my eyes and sat up, looking up at the stars, shining brightly in the night sky.

I looked to my right, Sparky and Poochyena were there, curled up and sound asleep.

_My first night as a Pokemon Trainer_, I thought. _I wonder if my brother started off how I did. He started with a Poochyena. I wonder where he is right now_....

"You okay, Skye?" I heard someone whisper and I saw Ash sit up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I whispered back. "I can't sleep, that's all."

"Excited about being a trainer, huh?" Ash stood up and walked over to me. He put his hand out and I took it. He helped me up off my sleeping bag. "Come on. I wanna show you something."

"Pooch?"

I looked over my shoulder at Poochyena, it raised its head and looked at us questioningly.

"Stay here, Poochyena," I told it. "We'll be back."

Poochyena yawned and put its head back down, resting it on Sparky's back and falling back asleep.

I turned back to Ash and quietly followed him away from the campsite and into the forest.

"So, where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see," Ash smiled. "I found it while I was looking for firewood."

After a few more minutes of walking, Ash stopped and I stopped beside him, looking at what he had found. "It's amazing!" I murmured.

"I know," Ash smiled. "I'm surprised you didn't know about it. You do live near here anyway."

"I've never been passed Oldale Town," I shook my head. "I've never seen anything like this."

I gazed out over the cliff and looked at the lights of Petalburg City, it was so beautiful and so, big!

We stood there for what seemed like hours. "Ash?" I murmured.

"Hmm?"he replied.

"Thanks, for letting me come with you on your Pokemon journey, and for showing me this place, it really lifts my spirits."

"No problems," Ash smiled. "We only just started here so you might as well tag along with us."

"I still appreciate it," I looked at him and he looked back at me. "You even helped me catch my very first Pokemon."

Ash shrugged. "But you also know we're going right through Petalburg City. Our first gym battle is in Rustboro City."

I nodded. "I know."

"Pooch!"

"Pika!"

We turned around and sighed. "You can come out. We know you're there," Ash murmured.

After a few moments, the three Pokemon came out of the bushes, Poochyena was the first.

"I thought I told you to stay back at the camp," I sighed.

"Poochyena..." Poochyena looked down and I crouched beside it, patting its head.

"It's alright," I smiled.

"Pooch!" Poochyena jumped up on its back legs and hugged me with its front legs, I hugged it back. Sparky jumped up on me head and we all laughed.

Pikachu climbed up to Ash's shoulder.

"We should head back anyway," Ash said. "It'll be morning soon and we still need a bit of sleep."

I nodded and stood up. "Let's go then."

Ash and I walked back through the trees, Poochyena walking at my side, matching me every step of the way.


	3. Skye's brother the Petalburg Gym Leader

"Well, we'd better head for Petalburg City as soon as we're ready."

I nodded and finished packing my sleeping bag back into my backpack.

The sun was shining brightly and we headed off through the forest.

We made it to Petalburg city pretty soon, with Ash pointing us in the right direction. It was bigger than I thought it was from looking at it on the cliff, there were more buildings, more little houses, more of everything!

"Maybe we should rest here for a day," Sara suggested. "After all, Rustboro City is another day away, and Ash and Skye will need to train before tackling her Pokemon."

"I'll need more Pokemon, too," I pointed out.

"So does Ash," Brock laughed "He only has Pikachu, Totodile and Phanpy."

"Well Roxanne only does have three Pokemon, so they might be the only ones he'll need," I murmured. "She's a Rock Type gym leader. And then again, maybe Pikachu won't be able to handle her Rock Type Pokemon...."

"Pikachu can handle it," Ash smirked. "Me and Pikachu defeated Brock's Onix when we battled him at the Pewter City gym."

"Wow.." I looked at Pikachu. "It must be pretty powerful then."

Ash nodded. "Pikachu was my very first Pokemon. Pikachu's my best friend."

I smiled. "That's wonderful."

"Mightyena, get back here! Where are you going?!"

I looked ahead and saw a big black dog-looking Pokemon heading right towards us, a smile on its face with a brown bag in its mouth.

"Poochyena!" Poochyena barked and the Pokemon stopped right in front of me.

I could feel the Pokemon's breath on my face, it was smiling widely. It dropped the bag and started licking my face. "What the!?" I exclaimed and tried to push it back. "What is this Pokemon!?"

"It's a Mightyena by the looks of it," Brock murmured.

"Well what's it trying to do!?" I growled, finally managing to push it away.

"Mightyena, what is wrong with you today? Why did you run up to these people and annoy them?"

I looked at a blond-haired boy wearing a black shirt, gray jeans and a black hat. "Honestly, Mightyena, I thought you were better trained. That was very rude."

"Might, Mightyena!" it sounded excited and it moved on its large paws, it was as tall as me.

"Wait!" my eyes widened. "Jake!?"

The boy looked at me. "Skye!?"

"Uh, do you two know each other?" Ash asked.

"Guys, this is my brother, Jake!" I smiled and hugged him, he hugged me back. "Where have you been this whole time? How's your Pokemon Journey going?"

"It's going great!" Jake replied. "I'm the gym leader of Petalburg City now."

I pulled away. "You're kidding!?"

"Nope."

"Oh my gosh!" I couldn't keep the smile off my face. "That's so cool!" I turned to the very excited Mightyena. "So, this must be Poochyena- Mightyena now?"

Mightyena nodded and tried to lick my face again, I pushed it away. "For a scary looking Pokemon, he's still friendly as ever."

"I know," Jake smiled. "But it's clear he hasn't forgotten you."

I nodded. "Oh, Jake, I'd like for you to meet my friends, this is Ash, Sara and Brock."

"Hey, how's it going?" Ash nodded.

Jake nodded in return. "Not bad. Hope you're looking after my sister?"

Ash looked at me and back at my brother. "Of course," he was a little nervous now.

"I'm only kidding," Jake laughed. "She can take care of herself."

"Well I'm a Pokemon Trainer now, just like you," I said. "These are my Pokemon, Sparky and Poochyena."

Mightyena looked down at Poochyena, and my little Pokemon stuck its nose up to smell the much bigger Pokemon.

"So you have a Poochyena too," Jake nodded approvingly. "It's a bit small though."

Poochyena looked up at my brother and growled. Mightyena cuffed Poochyena around the ears with its massive paw and it was quiet again.

"It may be small," I smiled down at Poochyena. "But it'll be super strong one day."

"Hey, Jake, could you show us your Pokemon?" Sara asked.

"Sure," Jake nodded. "But not here. We'll go to my gym. Follow me."

I walked with my brother with the others following behind us. Poochyena walked beside Jake's Mightyena, glancing up at it every now and then.

We walked through the city and eventually came to the Petalburg Gym. Jake opened the doors and we walked in, looking at the huge battle arena.

"Wow, it's so big!" Sara exclaimed.

"Yep," Jake replied. "Aren't all arenas like this?"

"Yeah I guess," Sara murmured. "But it's been a while since I've seen a gym arena, after all, I'm not a gym badge person."

"She's entering all the contests in Hoenn," I explained and Jake nodded. "Ash and I are going for gym badges."

Jake smiled and looked at me. "That means that we'll have the chance to battle one day."

I nodded. "And I'll prove how great a trainer I can be."

"Whoa, now that's some great motivation," Ash murmured to Brock and Sara. "If she keeps thinking of battling her brother, she'll be a great trainer for sure."

"Yeah but what happens after she battles him?" Sara murmured. "What if she loses?"

Ash shrugged. "We'll find out eventually."

"So, now I'll send out my Pokemon," Jake said and held out five more Pokeballs. He threw them into the air. "Come on out, guys!"

A Pokemon came out of each Pokeball and I looked at them all with awe. He had a Crawdaunt, a Claydoll, a Manectric, a Combusken and a Milotic.

Mightyena left Poochyena to stand with Jake's other Pokemon, altogether there was six amazing Pokemon.

"They're awesome!" I murmured.

"With each of my Pokemon, I trained them from their first evolution," Jake explained. "It wasn't easy, but being a trainer never is."

Poochyena went over and sniffed each of my brother's Pokemon.

"Pika, Pi," Sparky sighed.

Poochyena sniffed Milotic and looked back at me, excited. It jumped from paw to paw. "Pooch!Poochyena! Pooch!"

"What's the matter, Poochyena?" I asked.

"Pooch! Poochyena!"

"I think Poochyena wants to play with Milotic," Brock laughed.

I sighed. "Poochyena, you can't bother Milotic."

"That's okay," Jake said. "Poochyena can play with Milotic if it wants." He went and grabbed a control and pressed a button. His Pokemon, besides Milotic, moved off of the battle arena.

Poochyena was still very excited, it chased after Milotic as it moved back.

Suddenly, the floor started separating to reveal water underneath.

"Pooch!" Poochyena was startled and ran back to me as fast as it could.

"It's okay, Poochyena" I soothed.

"A water arena?" Brock murmured.

"Yeah," Jake replied. "That way if there are any challengers with Water Type Pokemon, it helps them a little."

"That's nice," Sara smiled.

Milotic jumped into the water, and little platforms rose up. Milotic stuck its head up out of the water. "Milotic!" it said in a beautiful voice.

"Pooch!" Poochyena was excited again and it ran over, jumping on the platforms. Milotic swam under the water and Poochyena jumped from platform to platform to follow it.

"That is so cute," I smiled.

"Hey, why don't you guys show me your Pokemon too," Jake suggested.

"Sure!" Ash said and grabbed two more Pokeballs from his belt. "Totodile! Phanpy, come on out!"

Two Pokemon came out, they were both blue.

I pulled out my Pokedex and pointed it at one of them. "Totodile, th big jaw Pokemon. It has a habit of biting anything with its developed jaws, even the trainers must be careful." I pointed it at the other one. "Phanpy, the elephant Pokemon. It likes to roll around and dig up the ground. In the wild, they dig up the earth to make their nests."

"I'll show you my Pokemon," Sara smiled and pulled out four Pokeballs. "Alright everyone, let's go!"

Four Pokemon appeared, I had no idea what they were. I pointed my Pokedex at one of them, the one that looked like a rabbit. "Buneary," the Pokedex said. "The rabbit Pokemon. It bounces on its back legs and perks up its ears when it senses any danger." I pointed it at another one. "Buizel, the weasel Pokemon.The collar that is around its neck can be inflated and used as a flotation device when the Pokemon inhales." It stood on its back legs and had orange fur with blue fins on its arms, and a long tail. I pointed the Pokedex at the other one. "Pachirisu, the electric squirrel. It can be very hyperactive and it loves to play with trainers and other Pokemon." I pointed it to the last one. "Eevee, the evolution Pokemon. It can evolve into seven different Pokemon."

"Seven?" I murmured.

"Yep," Sara smiled. "Are my Pokemon cute or what?"

"They're adorable," I smiled.

"Buneary!" Buneary bounced over to me and looked up at Sparky. "Bun, Buneary!"

"Pikachu," Sparky replied with a smile.

"Let's see your Pokemon, Brock," Jake said.

Brock nodded and threw out three Pokeballs. "Come on out!"

I blinked at the smallest one there, a tiny pink Pokemon. "Isn't that, a Happiny?"

"Yep."

"It's..... small, compared to Sudowoodo and Croagunk."

"It's only a baby," Brock smiled. "But it's strong."

"Cool," I smiled in return.

"Sara actually gave Croagunk to me," Brock admitted. "She said it was too much trouble to train."

"It _was_!" Sara exclaimed. "It was so lazy that it didn't want to train!"

Everyone laughed and Sara crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Why don't I treat you guys to lunch?" Jake smiled. "It would be my pleasure."

"Wow! Really!?" Sara had a huge grin on her face. "I'm starving."

Jake laughed and returned all his Pokemon. Poochyena slipped on a platform as it was startled by Milotic disappearing. "Poochyena!" it cried. "Pooch! Pooch!"

I was about to jump in and help Poochyena as it struggled in the water.

"Buizel!" Sara yelled. "Help Poochyena!"

Instantly, the orange Pokemon jumped into the water arena and swam under Poochyena. It popped up from the water with my little Pokemon on its back. I breathed with relief as Buizel brought Poochyena back to land and I ran over to it. "Are you alright, Poochyena!?"

"Pooch!" Poochyena nudged me in the face with its muzzle and started licking my face.

"Good job, Buizel," Sara walked over. "You can have a rest now." She held up a Pokeball and Buizel went inside.

"Is Poochyena okay?" Ash asked, coming over.

"Yeah, it's fine," I replied, smiling at Poochyena. I pulled out its Pokeball. "You should rest up. Return."

Poochyena went into the Pokeball. "Pika," Sparky said.

I looked at Sparky. "What's the matter?"

Suddenly, Sparky's stomach growled.

"Oh, I get it," I smiled.

"Come on," Jake laughed. "I'll show you the restaurant."

We followed my brother out of the gym and through the city. I looked around at all the places that food was offered.

We stopped at the front of a large white building, surely it couldn't be a restaurant!  
"Welcome to the seven star restaurant, the best place in town to eat," Jake announced. "One small problem."

"What?" I asked.

"You'll see," he had a smile on his face, I wondered what he was up to.

We followed him inside and there was a man in front of two large doors. "Welcome."

"Hi, I'm Jake, the leader of Petalburg City Gym," Jake announced casually. "We'd like to have lunch here."

"Oh yes, of course," the man nodded. "Jake, you are free to eat, but your friends will have to go through the normal procedures."

"Understood," Jake nodded.

"Procedures?" Sara echoed.

Suddenly, a boy ran through the doors behind the man. The man turned to face him. "Leaving us so soon?"

The boy growled. "Next time I won't lose! I'll eat here if it's the last thing I do!" he ran out of the building.

"What was his problem?" Sara asked, watching him run off.

"You'll see," Jake said. "Come on."

We followed Jake and the man through the large doors and the first thing I saw was a battle arena, then a man and a woman standing beside each other. "Huh!?" I exclaimed. "Don't tell me we have to battle to eat!?"

"That's the problem," Jake smiled. "Now we'll see how well you battle."

I sighed. "Alright."

Ash smiled. "A tag battle, huh?"

I looked at him and he looked back at me. I nodded. "We'll go first."

"Please step forward," the woman said.

Ash and I stepped into the box outlined in white. "Are you ready?" the man asked.

"Yep," Ash smiled. "Pikachu, you're up."

Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulder and ran onto the battle field.

I pulled out a Pokeball. "Okay, Poochyena, let's do this!" I threw the Pokeball and Poochyena popped out. "Alright, Poochyena, this is your first battle, make sure you do exactly as I say."

"Pooch!" Poochyena replied.

"Okay, Girafarig!" the man threw out a Pokeball and a yellow and brown giraffe thing appeared. On the end of its tail was like another face with a mouth of shiny, white, pointy teeth.

"Umbreon, let's go!" the woman threw out a Pokeball.

I watched as a black Pokemon on all fours appeared, it had gold rings around its ears, tail and gold circles on its forehead and legs.

"Cool! An Umbreon!" I exclaimed.

"That's one of the Pokemon that Eevee evolves into," Ash told me.

I smiled. "That's awesome!"

"Okay," the referee said. "Battle may now begin!"

"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Girafarig, use Confusion!" the man ordered.

"Umbreon, use Faint attack!" the woman yelled.

"Um..." I murmured.

Pikachu used Thunderbolt against Girafarig and the giraffe Pokemon used Confusion to block it. That clearly meant that Poochyena was up against Umbreon but it was nowhere.

Umbreon reappeared, right behind Poochyena, my Pokemon was completely unaware.

"Poochyena! Use Sand Attack backwards!" I called.

Poochyena instantly did what I told it to. It used its back legs to kick sand at Umbreon. The Dark Type Pokemon shook its head and used its paw to rub the sand from its eyes.

"Now, Poochyena! Turn around and use Bite!" I ordered.

Poochyena spun around and lunged forward, biting Umbreon's paw.

"Umbre!!!!!!" Umbreon called out and tore its paw free, jumping back.

"Pikachu, use Agility!"

I watched as Pikachu started running circles around Girafarig, the bigger Pokemon was getting dizzy.

"Umbreon, use Shadow Ball," the lady commanded.

"Shadow Ball!?" I exclaimed as Umbreon opened its mouth and a large black ball appeared. "Poochyena, dodge it!" I called and Umbreon shot it out. Poochyena jumped to the side but the attack still hit. "Poochyena!" I yelled.

Poochyena got back up, growling.

"Alright, Poochyena," I breathed. "Sand Attack, go!"

Poochyena kicked up more sand, blinding Umbreon again for a few moments.

"Now, use Tackle!" I called.

Poochyena leaped out of the dust and ran at Umbreon, slamming into it.

"Umbreon, use Shadow Ball!" the woman yelled.

"Use Quick Attack!" I called. "Then use Bite!"

Poochyena ran at Umbreon again and Umbreon summoned up another black ball from its mouth. Umbreon let it out and Poochyena dodged it, jumping into the air and coming down at Umbreon.

"Umbre!" Umbreon said and tried to dodge it, but Poochyena bit down on its tail. "UMBRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Good, Poochyena!" I smiled. "Tackle again!"

Poochyena tackled Umbreon one more time and it fell back, unable to keep going.

"Pikachu, finish it with Bolt Tackle!"

Pikachu ran at Girafarig and electricity surrounded it. "Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika!" it said as it ran. "Pik-A!" it slammed into Girafarig and I watched as the man's Pokemon fell back beside Umbreon.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle!" the referee announced. "The customers win!"

"That was an amazing battle," the woman smiled. "Thank you very much."

I nodded and watched as Poochyena came strolling over. I crouched down and patted it. "That was excellent, Poochyena! You did great!"

"Pooch, Poochyena!" Poochyena nudged me.

"Okay," I smiled. "You deserve a rest. "Return." I held up its Pokeball and it went inside.

"You can move on to the dining room now," the referee told Ash and I.

Ash and I shook our heads. "It's all of us or none of us," we said at the same time, I laughed quietly as Ash looked a little confused.

"Okay then," the referee said. "Next customers please step forward-"

"Pardon me! But we have an emergency!" a guy came out of the dining room.

"What is it?" the woman asked.

"All the food, it's been stolen!"

"What!?" Sara exclaimed. "Stolen!?"

We all went to the diner, everything was indeed stolen.

"Who would have done such a thing?" I murmured to myself.

"We'll find out," Jake growled, grabbing a Pokeball. "Mightyena, we need your help."

The ball opened and Mightyena came out. "Mightyena!" I said.

"We need you to track down the person that stole the food," Jake ordered.

"Might!" Mightyena nodded and went over to the area where the food had been place. It bent its head down and sniffed all over the place, searching for a scent.

I thought for a moment and grabbed Poochyena's Pokeball. "Poochyena, you can help too."

Poochyena came out. "Pooch?"

"The food has been stolen, can you help Mightyena track down who did it?" I asked.

Poochyena nodded and ran over to Mightyena, walking around with it, trying to find a scent.

"I hope they can find it," Brock said.

"I hope they can!" Sara growled. "Because whoever stole it is gonna pay!"

I flinched and hid behind Ash. "Does she always get like this?" Sara was really mad, you could almost see the flames of fury coming off of her.

"When people take her food, yes," Ash replied, looking over his shoulder at me. "But don't worry."

"Pooch!"

I looked over to Poochyena and Mightyena, they both looked at us and pointed with their noses in the same direction.

"They found a scent," Jake said.

"Let's follow them," Brock suggested and we all ran after the two Pokemon.

"Pika," Sparky said quietly, its stomach rumbling.

"Don't worry, Sparky," I said as we ran. "We'll get you some food soon, I promise."

"Pika, Pi!" Sparky smiled.

We followed the trail all the way to the woods and soon, Mightyena and Poochyena stopped, sniffing around again.

"Did they lose the trail?" Brock wondered.

"Looks like," Jake replied.

"Pooch, Poochyena!" Poochyena said and ran through the trees.

"Poochyena!" I called and we all ran after it. We stopped when we saw a huge hot air balloon in a clearing, it looked like a Meowth. Sitting down in the clearing was none other than Team Rocket, with lots of food around them.

"So it was them who took it!" Sarah growled. "Should have guessed."

"Let's go get them!" Ash growled.

Jake was the first one to step into the clearing, the rest of us followed. "Hey you! You have no right to steal all that food from the seven star restaurant in Petalburg City! As the Gym leader I say you should give it back."

_Even I know them better than he does_, I thought. _They're not just gonna give it back_.

"Who's gonna make us?" Jessie smiled. "We're hungry!"

"Then earn your right to eat it by battling the owners of the restaurant like everybody else!" Jake ordered. "Give it back immediately."

"I don't think so, pal!" Meowth said.

"Seviper, I choose you!" Jessie threw a Pokeball and her Seviper appeared.

"Cacnea, you too!" James's Cacnea came out.

I growled. "Okay, Sparky, let's do this!"

"Pika!" Sparky growled.

"We're with ya!" Ash said. "Pikachu, you ready?"

"Pika, Pi!" Pikachu jumped down, Sparky joined it.

"Give back that food or we'll just have to beat you to get it back!" I growled.

"You'll just have to beat us," James poked his tongue out at me.

"Have it your way," I growled. "Sparky-"

"Skye, I know you really want to battle, but let me handle this," Jake said.

"What?" I exclaimed. "But, but, but!!!"

Jake threw a Pokeball. "Combusken, let's go!"

Combusken came out of its Pokeball. "Combusken!"

"Alright, Combusken! Use Flamethrower!"

"Seviper, use Poison Tail!" Jessie ordered.

Fire came out of Combusken's mouth, flying towards Team Rocket. Seviper hit it with its purple glowing tail and it was diverted.

"Cacnea, use Pin Missile!" James yelled.

White strings shot from Cacnea's arms and came at Combusken, hitting it.

"Combusken!" it cried.

"Okay then, Mightyena, go!"

Mightyena ran forward to take Combusken's place.

"Use Shadow Ball!" Jake ordered.

_Shadow Ball_? I thought. _Does that mean that Poochyena could learn it too_?

Mightyena opened its mouth and a black ball appeared.

"AH!" Jessie shivered. "That Pokemon has scary written all over it!"

The black ball got bigger and bigger, nearly half the size of Mightyena.

"Alright, let it loose!" Jake said.

Mightyena closed its mouth and the black ball flew at Seviper and Cacnea. The two Pokemon fell back, landing on top of Jessie and James.

"Buneary, go!" Sara threw a Pokeball and her Buneary came out. "Buneary, use Ice Beam!"

Buneary opened its mouth and a blue sphere appeared, then a blue beam shot out of it at Team Rocket and froze them.

"Pikachu, use Bolt Tackle!" Ash called.

I watched as Pikachu ran at them, electricity surrounding it. "Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika!" it said quickly, then it collided with Team Rocket. "Pik-A!"

Team Rocket shot up into the air with their air balloon, or at least the remainder of it.

"Looks like they're blasting off again," Sara smiled.

"Well done, guys," Jake said.

"That was amazing!" I exclaimed. "I didn't know that Mightyena knew Shadow Ball! Could Poochyena learn it too?"

Jake looked at Poochyena. "It's a bit small... I don't know. It would take a while to learn it."

"Well we'll be here for a few days, so why not!?" I was excited by the idea. I wanted Poochyena to learn Shadow Ball, and maybe later on ask Ash if he could teach Sparky how to use Bolt Tackle.

Jake sighed. "Alright, we'll try and teach Shadow Ball to Poochyena."

"YAY!" I cheered and hugged my brother, taking him by surprise. "You don't know how much I've missed you," I whispered. "It's been nearly two years."

Jake sighed and hugged me back. "I know, Skye."

"Well, let's get all this food back to the restaurant," Sara said. "I still have to battle if I want to eat it."

We gathered up all the food and in no time, we were back at the battle arena, ready to watch Sara and Brock battle the restaurant owners, that were named Amy and George.

"Alright," the referee said. "Battle between customers and owners will begin."

"Wait!" George said. "I would like to change this a little bit."

"How so?" the referee asked.

"Amy can battle Sara first, and after the battle, I would like to battle Brock."

The referee hesitated for a few moments. "Very well."

Brock stood back with Ash, Jake and I to watch Sara's battle, George stepped back away from his wife.

"Okay, Roselia, go!" Amy threw a Pokeball and out came a green Pokemon with a red rose as its right hand and a blue rose as its red hand. It was quite pretty.

"Alright," Sara got out a Pokeball, pressing the button in the middle to make it expand. She threw it. "Buneary, let's go!"

"Battle begin!" the referee announced.

"Roselia, use Poison Sting!" Amy called.

"Dodge it by using Bounce!" Sara ordered.

"Buneary!" Buneary started bouncing and it easily dodged the purple needles that Roselia threw from its rose hands.

"Alright, Buneary! Use Dizzy Punch!" Sara yelled.

Buneary jumped into the air and came down towards Roselia, throwing its ears forward and back, one by one, the tops glowing white. "Bun, Bun, Bun, Bun, Bun!" Buneary said each time it threw an ear forward.

"Dodge it, Roselia!"

Roselia managed to get out of the way without too much damage, but one of Buneary's ears hit.

Roselia started acting strange, it started hitting itself with its rose hands.

"What is Roselia doing?" I asked Ash.

"Buneary's Dizzy Punch must have confused it," Ash replied.

"What does that mean?"

"It means, that when a Pokemon is confused in battle, it forgets what it's supposed to be doing and it can sometimes hurt itself in battle.

"Now, Buneary!" Sara called. "Use Ice Beam!"

Buneary opened its mouth and a blue beam shot out, aiming for Roselia.

"Roselia, snap out of it!" Amy yelled.

Roselia stopped hitting itself and shook its head.

"Dodge it, Roselia!"

Roselia maneuvered out of the way just in time.

"Use Bounce!" Sara ordered.

Buneary started bouncing around Roselia, making it twirl in circles.

"Roselia, use Solar Beam," Amy said.

"Solar Beam!?" I exclaimed. "That's dangerous, isn't it?"

"Yep," Ash smiled. "But I have a feeling Sara knows what she's doing."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Sara does this all the time," Ash looked at me. "You could say she's an expert at catching someone's bluff or making it look like she's scared or whatever when actually, she's not."

"An expert, huh?" I murmured to myself and turned back to the match.

Roselia put its hands together and a yellow/orange sphere appeared, taking in the sunlight from the open windows.

"Buneary, now!" Sara called.

Buneary stood in front of Roselia, about ten feet away and closed its eyes, it looked like it was focusing.

"What's she doing!?" I exclaimed under my breath. "She's put Buneary right in front of Roselia's attack!"

"Just keep watching," Ash told me.

I looked at Sara, she looked worried, but it might have been just a bluff, I wasn't able to tell.

After a few more moments, Roselia let loose its Solar Beam. It came straight for Buneary.

"PIKA!" Sparky called.

"Okay Buneary!" Sara said. "Use Bounce, now!"

Buneary opened its eyes and suddenly jumped into the air, nearly hitting the roof. The Solar Beam flew right passed Sara, she put her arms up to protect her face.

"Buneary, use Ice Beam!" Sara called.

"Oh, I get it now," I mumbled.

"Yep," Ash looked at me. "She knew Roselia would be a little weaker after that Solar Beam, so she took it to her advantage to move Buneary right in front of it and make it look like Buneary was summoning up some sort of power."

"Where as Roselia had no idea it was a trap so it let out the Solar Beam," I finished.

"That's right," Ash nodded and we looked back to the battle.

Buneary let out an Ice Beam and Roselia had no time to dodge it because it was too weak. The Ice Beam hit and Roselia turned to a block of ice.

"Roselia!" Amy called.

"Now use Dizzy Punch!" Sara called.

Buneary threw its ears in front of it, like it was punching the air, the tops of its ears shining white. "Bun, Bun, Bun, Bun, Bun, Bun!" it said each time.

It came down on Roselia and hit the ice, making it shatter into pieces. Roselia fell back and tried to get up, but fell back down.

"Roselia is unable to continue," the referee announced. "The customer wins!"

"We did it, Buneary!" Sara smiled and Buneary ran over to her. "You did great!"

"Bun, Buneary!" Buneary cheered and jumped into Sara's arms. Sara gave her Pokemon a big hug, and Buneary returned it. "Buneary, Bun, Bun!"

"She's really strong," I murmured.

"That's because she's a great trainer," Brock said. "You'll be a strong trainer too, one day."

I smiled and nodded my thanks. Sara walked over to us with a smile.

"Pi, Pikachu!" Sparky said to Buneary.

"Bun, Bun!" Buneary smiled. "Buneary!"

"That was amazing, Sara," Ash smiled. "As always of course. You know how to put on a good show."

"I'm a coordinator, that's why," Sara smiled back. "My Pokemon have to be beautiful and strong. But I still love them no matter what." She hugged Buneary again.

"Okay, Brock, are you ready for your battle?" George asked.

Brock nodded and walked to the box where trainers were supposed to stand during a battle. Sara sat in between Jake and Ash.

"Let's see how well Brock does," Ash murmured.

"Go, Meditite," George threw a Pokeball and a small Pokemon appeared, it looked like it was meditating, and it was floating in the air.

"Let's go, Sudowoodo!" Brock threw a Pokeball and his Sudowoodo appeared, standing tall, looking like a tree.

"Sudowoodo is a Grass Type, right?" I asked Ash. "Will Brock have an advantage over Meditite?"

Ash shook his head. "Sudowoodo isn't a Grass Type at all. It's actually a Rock Type. But I don't know how this battle is going to turn out."

I looked back at Brock's Pokemon, it didn't look like a Rock Type. But then again, the only thing it looked like was tree with eyes, a mouth and two legs.

"Battle begin!" the referee announced.

"Okay, Sudowoodo," Brock said. "Use Rock Slide!"

Sudowoodo lifted its arms and rocks started coming up from the ground. They flew up into the air and started flying down towards Meditite, who hadn't once moved.

"Meditite, Confusion!" George said.

Meditite opened its eyes and they glowed purple. The rocks stopped flying for it and they flew back towards Sudowoodo.

I looked down at Poochyena, lying on my lap, falling asleep. "You should be watching this to gain more experience, not napping!"

Poochyena looked up at me and quickly sat up, watching the battle intently, taking in everything that was happening.

"Dodge it, Sudowoodo!" Brock said and Sudowoodo did as it was told, dodging every single rock thrown at it. "Now use Double Edge!"

Sudowoodo ran at Meditite and hit it head on. Meditite fell back and didn't get back up.

"Meditite!" George exclaimed.

"That was quick," I muttered.

"Meditite is unable to battle," the referee said. "The customer wins!"

"Return, Sudowoodo!" Brock said and his Pokemon went back inside the Pokeball.

"You may now enjoy your evening meal in the dining room, the butler that we first met when we came here said. "We have prepared a table full of food for you and your Pokemon."

"Pika!" Sparky said.

"Alright!" Ash stood up. "I'm starving!"

"Well then, let's go eat!" Sara smiled.

"Come on, Skye," Ash said and held his hand out to help me up. I took his hand and stood up, Poochyena was forced to jumped off my lap.

We all went into the dining room and found a huge table with food on it. "It's all yours," the butler smiled and shut the door so we could eat.

"Okay, come on out, guys!" Ash said and let out his Phanpy and Totodile.

Sara let all her Pokemon out and so did Brock and Jake. I didn't have to because my two Pokemon were already out.

Poochyena sat at my feet, sticking its tongue out and panting, looking up at the table of food. Sparky jumped onto it. I smiled and knelt down, picking Poochyena up and putting it on the table beside Sparky.

"Dig in," I told Sparky and Poochyena. They both smiled and started eating. Eventually, we had all eaten our share of food, and there was still lots on the table.

The sky was getting dark and Jake stood up. "Do you guys have a place to stay tonight?"

"We were thinking of heading over to the Pokemon Center," Brock replied.

Jake nodded. "Okay." He returned his Pokemon, except for Mightyena. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"And then you'll help me teach Poochyena to use Shadow Ball?" I asked.

Jake smiled and nodded. "Yes, then I'll help you teach Poochyena how to use Shadow Ball. If it can manage it."

"Pooch!" Poochyena smiled. "Poochyena!"

"It will," I smiled as well.

Jake nodded. "Come on, Mightyena."

"Might!" Mightyena replied and followed Jake out of the room.

"We should get over to the Pokemon Center," Sara sighed. "It'll be past curfew soon and it'll close."

"You're right," Ash stood up and returned his Pokemon, Pikachu jumped up on his shoulder.

"Take a rest you guys," Sara told her Pokemon and returned them into their Pokeballs. Brock did the same.

"Let's go," Brock said and we all walked out.

We went over to the Pokemon Center and Nurse Joy gave us a room to sleep in. There was two bunk-beds, Sara and I took one side, Ash and Brock took the other side.

We stayed awake for a little while, but Poochyena and Sparky fell asleep at the end of my bed.

"So, how long has it been since you last saw your brother?" Brock asked me.

"Two years," I replied. "He set out to become a Pokemon Master and we didn't see him again after that. But now that I know he's the Gym Leader at Petalburg City, mum will be so proud of him."

"You must be proud of him too," Ash said. "That he got to be such a great trainer he was able to become a Gym Leader."

I nodded.

"At least you know he succeeded on his Pokemon Journey," Sara added. "Do you know if he's traveled anywhere else?"

I shook my head. "He might have, I'm not sure. Like I said, I haven't had any contact with him for two years."

"Fair enough," Brock said. "But anyway, we should get some sleep. It's way past ten o'clock."

We all agreed and I went to my bed, settling down under the sheets and resting my head on my pillow. Poochyena and Pikachu crawled up to my head and fell asleep beside me. Poochyena rested its head on my neck, so if I wanted to, I couldn't move or I'd wake it up.

The others crawled into their beds as well, and soon, they were all asleep, the only sound was snoring, mainly from Ash and a little bit from Sara. I smiled and closed my eyes, falling asleep as well, hoping that in the morning, Jake would be able to teach Poochyena how to use Shadow Ball.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

I woke up as something wet was covering my face. I opened my eyes and Poochyena was in my face, licking me continuously for me to wake up.

I sat up and it stepped back with a smile, sitting down, sticking its tongue out and wagging its tail.

"You're very excited this morning," I yawned.

"Pika, Pi," Sparky smiled.

"Oh that's right, you're going to start learning that new attack," I suddenly remembered and Poochyena tilted its head back and howled quietly.

I got out of bed and looked to see if the others were still asleep, but they weren't even in the room.

"Where'd they go?" I asked my two Pokemon.

"Pika, Pi, Pikachu!" Sparky replied, it rubbed its hands over its face a few times and then over its ears.

"They went to go wash up, huh?" I asked. Sparky nodded.

"That's better."

I turned around and saw Ash and the others walk in, all dressed and ready for another good day.

"Morning, Skye," Sara waved. "We went to go wash up while you were still asleep."

"That's okay," I smiled. "I only just woke up." I looked at Poochyena as I said it. Poochyena smiled.

"You should go wash up too," Brock said. "Then we'll go downstairs and get something to eat."

I nodded and grabbed my bag, leaving the room and heading for the bathroom.

I came back a few minutes later, awake and dressed in my black hooded shirt and gray jeans.

Sparky jumped up on my shoulder as I put my bag down again. "Alright, let's go eat," I smiled.

"Poochyena!" Poochyena smiled and we all left the room.

We went downstairs to the Pokemon Center cafe and had something to eat for breakfast.

"So, when are you supposed to meet Jake today?" Sara asked.

I shrugged. "Not sure. I guess whenever I'm ready."

"Well we'll come too, to watch how well your training goes," Ash offered.

"Thanks," I smiled.

"Pooch!" Poochyena barked and I turned my head to see a guy with brown scruffy hair, a black, short sleeve shirt, light purple pants and black shoes. He walked in with an Eevee at his side.

"Poochyena?" I murmured. "What's the matter?"

"Maybe it's just excited to see a new Pokemon," Sara said and turned around, she blinked a few times at the boy. "I think I know that person."

Ash looked up and nearly choked on his food. "Oh no! Not Gary!"

The guy looked our way and spotted Ash instantly, he walked over, Eevee matching him step for step.

"Well if it isn't Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town," the guy smirked. "Still a loser I see."

"Take that back, Gary!" Ash growled. "I'm a way better trainer than you are!"

"I'll believe it when I see it, loser!" Gary was still smirking.

"Who are you anyway?" I asked. "How do you know Ash?"

Gary looked at me. "Me? I'm Gary Oak, also from Pallet Town in the Kanto region. I grew up knowing Ash because Professor Oak is my grandfather."

"Who's Professor Oak?"

"He studies Pokemon in the Kanto region," Sara replied.

"Oh, so like Professor Birch?" I murmured.

"Probably," Sara shrugged.

"And who might you be?" Gary asked me. "Which region are you from?"

"I'm Skye," I replied simply. "I come from this region. I only started my Pokemon Journey two days ago."

"This your Pokemon?" Gary asked, looking down at Poochyena. I nodded and he crouched down to pat it. "It's a bit small, don't ya think?"

Poochyena growled quietly.

"Yeah I guess, but it's really strong," I answered.

"How can it be strong when it's no more than a pup. Who did you put it against, a weak Wurmple?"

Poochyena growled louder and snapped its head up, biting down on Gary's hand. Gary tore his hand back and stood up, holding it.

"Poochyena!" I exclaimed and picked it up, putting it on the table and standing up. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry about that! Poochyena has never done something like this before."

"It's okay," Gary replied.

I looked over my shoulder at Poochyena, he as still growling at Gary.

"That's what you get for calling Poochyena little," Sara smirked.

"Are you sure you're alright?" I fretted. "That was a pretty nasty bite."

"Don't worry about him, Skye!" Ash laughed. "He deserved it!"

"Poochyena might be small," Brock smiled. "But as you can see, its bite is worse than its bark."

Gary growled. "Why don't we have a battle to see who's better?"

"Sorry, but I don't have time," I sighed. "I have to go meet Jake."

"Jake, as in the Gym Leader, Jake?" Gary asked.

I nodded. "He's my brother. But anyway, I have to go." I turned to the others."Coming?"

They nodded and I pulled out Poochyena's Pokeball. "Return, Poochyena."

Poochyena went inside the Pokeball and Sparky jumped on my shoulder. We all left the Pokemon Center and ran towards the Petalburg City Gym.

I walked through the doors first and saw Jake at one side of the battle arena and a boy on the other side.

"Mightyena, use Shadow Ball!" Jake commanded and Mightyena shot a black sphere at the boy's Linoone.

Linoone fell back and didn't get up.

"Linoone is unable to battle!" the referee announced. "Mightyena wins!"

"Sorry, but it doesn't look like you're getting a gym badge today," Jake said.

"I'll train harder and I'll come back to try again!" the boy replied, returning his Pokemon.

"That's a good idea," Jake smiled. "I'll be looking forward to it."

The boy ran towards the doors and Ash pulled me out of the way to avoid getting knocked over.

"Oh, hi guys," Jake said and walked over with Mightyena.

"Hi, was that a Gym Battle?" I asked.

"It sure was," Jake smiled. "So, you're here to learn Shadow Ball?"

I nodded. "And we won't give up until we've learned it!"

Jake shrugged. "I like your enthusiasm, Skye, but from Poochyena's size and level, it might not be able to learn it."

"We can still try."

"Yeah," Ash smiled. "There's no point doubting it when you haven't tried it. You'll never know unless you try."

Jake looked at Ash and nodded. "Spoken like a true Pokemon Master. Alright, Skye, we'll start training in here."

I smiled and looked at Ash. "Thanks," I whispered.

"No worries," Ash replied in a whisper.

"You ready, Skye?"

I turned around and saw Jake standing on the other side of the battle arena, Mightyena stood within the boundaries. "I'm ready," I replied and took out Poochyena's Pokeball. I threw it. "Alright, Poochyena, you're up!"

Poochyena appeared in front of me and turned around to look at me, sitting down.

"Poochyena, get in there," I said. "It's time to learn the Shadow Ball attack."

Poochyena stood up again and turned around, walking over to Mightyena.

"Okay, pretty much all you have to do is get your Pokemon to summon up its Dark Type powers and form it into a ball," Jake explained.

"You hear that, Poochyena?" I said. "Try it out."

Poochyena looked up at Mightyena, unsure. Mightyena sighed and turned to the side, opening its mouth. A black sphere appeared and grew bigger, then Mightyena closed its mouth and the ball shot forward, hitting the wall and causing a small explosion.

Mightyena turned back to Poochyena and sat down. "Might!" it barked.

Poochyena nodded and turned to the side, opening its mouth. A tiny black sphere appeared in front of its muzzle and it didn't get any bigger. Poochyena tried to make it get bigger but it disappeared and Poochyena was thrown back.

"Poochyena!" I called.

"Pi, Pika, Pi!" Sparky shouted.

Before Poochyena hit the ground, Mightyena ran over and grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, then put it back on its feet. "Might! Mightyena! Might!" Mightyena barked.

At least an hour went by and Poochyena still didn't get the hang of it. Poochyena was tired and covered in dirt, Mightyena was lying down, resting its muzzle on its paws, watching Poochyena try and try and try.

"I was right," Jake sighed. "Poochyena can't learn it yet."

I looked at Poochyena, trying over and over again "We'll try it tomorrow. In the mean time, Poochyena, you deserve a good rest," I held up its Pokeball and Poochyena went inside it.

"I'll prove to you that Poochyena can learn how to use Shadow Ball," I told my brother. "We'll train by ourselves and then I'll come back and show you."  
Jake smiled. "I'll be waiting."

Me and my friends turned and left the gym.

"Pikachu?" Sparky murmured and I looked at it, it looked worried.

"It's okay, Sparky," I smiled.

"Pika," Sparky smiled in return.


	4. Shadow Ball and Team Aqua

"Okay, Poochyena, try again! Use Shadow Ball!"

Poochyena opened its mouth and a tiny black sphere appeared, but it disappeared and Poochyena was thrown back.

I sighed. "We've been at this for three days now... We'll never get this right."

"Don't say that," Ash came over and put a hand on my shoulder. "Three days that you haven't given up, that's really good. You already act like a great Pokemon Trainer by not giving up, so you can't quit now."

"Pikachu, Pika!" Pikachu said, jumping up on Ash's shoulder.

"That's right," Ash smiled. "Pikachu still remembers how much training we went through to learn Bolt Tackle."

"Was it really that hard?" I asked.

"Harder than learning Shadow Ball that's for sure," Ash replied.

I sighed. "Well we don't seem to be making any progress..."

"You'll get the hang of it," Sara smiled. "Why don't we go find a restaurant and have some lunch?"

"No thanks, I'll stay here a little longer and train some more," I replied.

"Okay," Sara shrugged. "We'll go find Jake and ask if he knows any more good restaurants."

I nodded. "See ya, later."

My three friends turned and walked down the hill back towards Petalburg City. I looked at Poochyena, it was tired.

"Do you want to have a break?" I asked.

Poochyena shook its head. "Pooch! Poochyena!"

"Pi, Pikachu!" Sparky said. "Pika, Pi, Pikachu!"

I looked down at Sparky. "You think that if Poochyena has a proper target to aim at, it will get better?"

"Pika, Pikachu!" Sparky nodded.

I smiled. "Okay. Could you please help Poochyena?"

Sparky nodded again and ran over to Poochyena. "Pika, Pi."

"Pooch!" Poochyena smiled.

Sparky moved back a few paces and so did Poochyena. "Alright, Poochyena, use Shadow Ball!"

We trained for a few more hours, and Poochyena still couldn't get it. I sat down and sighed. "We need a break."

Poochyena and Sparky came over to me, tired.

"I don't think we're going to get this right any time soon," I murmured.

"Poochyena..." Poochyena looked at the ground sadly.

I patted it on the head. "Don't feel bad. It's not you fault. We can keep trying, but maybe it will only work when you're a little stronger."

Poochyena raised its head again with a smile, wagging its tail.

_**BANG**_!!!!!!

"What was that!?" I exclaimed and stood up, looking down at Petalburg City. Smoke rose up from a building and my eyes widened. "That's the Gym!"

"Pika!" Sparky growled.

"Pooch, Poochyena!" Poochyena barked.

"Come on!" I said and we ran down the hill, Sparky on my left and Poochyena on my right. We ran through the city and eventually came to the Petalburg Gym.

We looked around to see what might have caused it, but there were no traces.

"Skye!"

I turned around and saw Ash, Sara, Brock and Jake.

"What happened?" Jake asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "I heard the explosion and came down to check it out."

Two men and a woman ran out of the Gym and spotted Jake, rushing towards him. "Jake, it's terrible!"

"What's happened?" Jake asked formally.

"All the Gym Badges have been stolen!" the woman replied.

"All the Gym Badges!?" Ash exclaimed.

"We have to get them back!" Brock growled.

"Poochyena, time to put your nose to work," I said.

Poochyena nodded and started sniffing around.

"You check out here," Jake told me. "Mightyena and I will try and get a scent from inside."

I nodded and my brother ran towards the Gym, but more people ran out.

I looked up at the roof and saw flames. "There's a fire in the Gym!"

We all ran into the Gym and saw that nearly everything had caught fire.

"This is terrible!" Sara murmured and got out a Pokeball. "Buizel, let's go!"

Buizel appeared with its arms crossed.

"Use Water Gun to help put out the fire!" Sara said.

Buizel nodded and water shot out of its mouth at some of the fire.

Jake had a control in his hand and pressed a button, making the arena disappear and make the water underneath be revealed. He threw a Pokeball. "Milotic, go!"

Milotic appeared in the water. "Milotic!"

"Use Twister!" Jake commanded.

Milotic used its power to make the water rise up and move like a twister. It moved around the gym and put out some of the flames.

"Totodile, I choose you!" Ash threw a Pokeball and Totodile appeared. "Use Water Gun to put out some of the flames.

The flames were out soon enough and I was relieved that the gym didn't burn down.

"Poochyena!" Poochyena said and sniffed the ground. "Pooch!"

Poochyena ran out of the gym.

"Poochyena, where are you going!?" I called and ran after it. Sparky followed.

"Skye!" Sara yelled and they all returned their Pokemon and ran after me.

_What's gotten into Poochyena_? I thought as I ran after it.

"Pika!" Sparky said and I noticed that Poochyena was gone.

I stopped. "Poochyena! Where are you!?"

I heard a howling noise and I ran into the Petalburg forest. Sparky and I found Poochyena in a small clearing, sniffing around. "Pooch! Pooch!"

"What is it, Poochyena?" I asked.

"Pooch! Poochyena!" Poochyena dabbed at something with its paw and I walked over to it, crouching down do see it.

"A footprint?"

"Skye!"

I looked over my shoulder to see my friends and my brother running to catch up with us. "Why did you just run off like that?" Jake growled.

"Sorry, but Poochyena found something," I replied.

"What did it find?" Brock asked.

"Footprints," I answered, seeing the rest of them. "Headed deeper into the woods."

"Poochyena! Pooch! Pooch!" Poochyena jumped in the direction of the footprints and I stood up.

"Alright, lead the way, Poochyena," I said and we all ran after it.

We ran deeper and deeper into the forest and Poochyena eventually stopped and started sniffing around again, the footprints were gone.

"Mightyena, help out!" Jake let Mightyena out of its Pokeball.

Mightyena growled something to Poochyena and Poochyena came back to me. Mightyena sniffed the ground thoroughly and we walked forward, but we suddenly fell down into a pit trap.

"What the!?" Sara growled. "Who would dig a hole in the middle of the damn forest!?"

Poochyena licked my face and I pushed it away. "Cut it out, Poochyena. I'm okay." But I was a bit dizzy.

"Jake, you're squashing me!" Sara complained.

"Well it would help if Brock wasn't squashing _me_!" Jake replied.

Brock got up and Jake did to. He turned around and he helped Sara up.

"You okay?" Ash asked me.

"Huh?" I looked at him, he was sitting up against the wall, and I was lying across his lap, thats how I had fallen.

I quickly got up but hit my head against the wall. "OW!"

"Take it easy or you'll really hurt yourself!" Ash said.

"I'm okay..." I mumbled.

"Hahahaha! Caught like always!"

We all looked up and saw a hot air balloon that looked like a Meowth.

"Team Rocket!" Sara growled. "Why didn't I know it was them!?"

"That's a nice Mightyena you have here," I heard Jessie say. "But I think it would be better with us."

We all climbed out of the pit hole and I saw Mightyena being pulled up in a net and hung below the basket.

"Mightyena, use Bite to break free!" Jake called.

Mightyena bit down on the ropes, but it couldn't manage to break a single thread.

"What do you want with Jake's Mightyena!?" I growled. "And why did you dig a trap for us!?"

"Our pit-trap digging skills is still intact," Jessie said.

"But our drafting the modern technology today is a necessary fact," James added.

"The wind!" Jessie said.

"The stars!" James said.

"Dig a trap!" Meowth added.

"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!" Jessie smiled.

"Dashing hope, putting fear in its place!" James had a rose in his hand.

"A trap dug any other way is just as sweet."

"When earth is moved out work is complete!"

"It's Jessie!"

"And it's James!"

"Meowth, now hat's a name!"

"Putting the do-gooders in their place," Jessie said.

"Team Rocket..." James smiled.

"We're in your face!" the three of them chorused.

"Wobbuffet!" Jessie's Pokemon came out of its Pokeball.

"Mime, Mime, Mime, Mime!" Mime Jr. added.

I rolled my eyes. "You're boring. Now give back Mightyena!"

"Sorry, but no can do!" Jessie smiled.

"Sparky, use Thundershock!" I growled.

Sparky jumped up. "Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" electricity shot out and hit the top of the net, trying to get Mightyena free, but it didn't work.

"Why, that Pikachu is fairly strong too," James smiled.

"We should grab that one too!" Meowth suggested.

Sara threw a Pokeball and Buneary came out. "Buneary, use Ice Beam!"

"Bun!" Buneary said and opened its mouth. A blue beam shot out and hit the top of the net.

"Uh oh, we made the net so no Electric Type Pokemon could break it, but we forgot about Ice Types!" Meowth exclaimed.

"Mightyena, use Shadow Bal1!" Jake called.

Mightyena opened its mouth and a black sphere shot out, breaking the net and falling to the ground.

Mightyena landed on its feet and I had an idea.

"Alright, Poochyena, we got one shot. Sara, can you get Poochyena into the air?" I asked.

Sara looked at me and nodded. "Buneary, put Poochyena on your back and use Bounce!"

Poochyena ran over to Buneary and got on its back.

"Skye, what are you doing?" Jake asked.

"You'll see," I said as Buneary used Bounce to jump into the air. "Alright, Poochyena, now use Shadow Ball!"

Everyone looked up at Poochyena. It jumped off of Buneary's back and opened its mouth.

_You can do it, Poochyena_, I thought.

A large black sphere appeared in front of Poochyena's muzzle and it got bigger and bigger, twice the size of Poochyena itself!

"This doesn't look good," James murmured.

"Let it loose, Poochyena!" I called.

Poochyena snapped its jaw shut and the huge black sphere flew at the balloon.

"AAAHHH!!!!!!" Jessie and James hugged each other in fear.

The ball went straight through the air balloon and put two holes in it, then the balloon came down to the ground.

"Alright, Pikachu!" Ash said. "Finish off with Bolt Tackle!"

"Oh no!" Meowth said. "I hate that attack!"

Pikachu started running on all fours towards Team Rocket and their air balloon. Electricity surrounded it as it ran and its eyes were narrowed with anger. "Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika!" Pikachu collided with them. "Pik-A!"

There was a huge explosion and Team Rocket was thrown up into the air with their shredded air balloon. "Looks like we're blasting off again!" they all shouted.

"That settles that," Brock said.

"That was amazing, Skye!" Ash smiled. "How did Poochyena learn it so fast!?"

I shrugged and Poochyena trotted over. "I don't know. But it was super cool. You did great, Poochyena!"

"Pooch, Poochyena!" Poochyena smiled.

"Might!" I looked over to Mightyena, it came walking over and Poochyena looked up at it. Mightyena smiled. "Mightyena, Might!"

Poochyena smiled in return. "Pooch! Poochyena!"

"Pikachu," Sparky said.

"Your Thundershock was great too, Sparky," I smiled and patted my Pokemon as it jumped up on my shoulder.

"Pika," Pikachu called. "Pikachu!"

Sparky smiled at Pikachu. "Pika, Pi!" Sparky stopped waving at Pikachu and jumped down from my shoulder, running over to where Pikachu hit Team Rocket with the Bolt Tackle.

"Sparky?" I murmured.

Sparky picked something up in its mouth and ran over to Jake. It was a small, black case with a silver outline.

"The Badges, of course," Brock said. "I'd forgotten."

"Thank you, Sparky," Jake crouched down and patted Sparky on the head, taking the case from it.

"Pika, Pikachu!" Sparky smiled.

Jake stood up again. "We should head back to Petalburg City. It will be dark soon."

"And we're heading for Rustboro City tomorrow," Ash pointed out. "We'll need to rest up."

"You deserve a rest, Poochyena," I smiled and pulled out its Pokeball.

"Pooch!" Poochyena smiled and went inside it.

"Come on, Sparky," I called and Sparky ran over to me, jumping up to my shoulder again.

We headed back to Petalburg City, it was hard to believe we were moving on after staying for so long, I was going to miss my brother, but I had a Pokemon Journey to complete.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"See you."

"Bye," Ash said. "See ya around sometime maybe."

"Yeah, sure," Jake smiled. "See ya, Skye."

I sighed. "Bye, Jake."

Jake held my chin and made me look up at him. "Don't be so upset. I'll keep in touch, don't worry. And you have your Pokemon Journey to worry about. You'll have lots of fun, I guarantee it."

I smiled and hugged my brother. "I'll see you again when I have to battle you for a Gym Badge."

"Yeah. But don't think I'll go easy on you because you're my sister," Jake smiled, hugging me in return.

I broke away. "And don't think _I'll_ go easy on _you_ because you're my brother."

Jake ruffled my hair. "See you then."

I nodded and my friends and I turned to leave.

I heard howling and I looked over my shoulder to see Mightyena standing beside Jake. Poochyena, who was walking beside me, threw its head back and howled in return.

"They created a pretty good friendship," Brock commented.

"They'll see each other again," Sara laughed. "When they have to meet in battle."

"It'll be fun battling against my brother," I smiled.

Ash nodded. "That's great. The best thing _about_ battling is to have fun."

"Cool!" I replied.

We had been walking for half a day, when we saw a man up ahead. He looked at us and rushed over. "Oh, hello young travelers. Are you, by any chance, Pokemon Trainers?"

"Sure are," Sara nodded. "Why?"

"Well, um.." the man cleared his throat and I looked at the brown suit he wore. "I am from Devon Corp. but we have a bit of a problem-"

"There you are!"

I looked up to see a man dressed in blue pants, a black and white striped top, black gloves and a blue bandanna with a symbol on it. He came over to us. "I was prepared to wait for you, but you had to dawdle into Petalburg Woods, didn't you!?" the man growled. "Hand over those Devon Papers!"

The man hid behind me. "Please help me, he can't be allowed to get the documents!"

"I'll battle him!" I said.

"You're going to help him?" the man growled at me. "Fine. I'll teach a kid like you not to mess with Team Aqua!" He pulled out a Pokeball. "Go, Poochyena!" A Poochyena appeared in front of him.

My Poochyena growled. "Not this time, sorry," I said. "Sparky, you're up."

Sparky jumped down from my shoulder and glared at Poochyena. "Pika!" it growled.

"Poochyena-"

"One question," I said.

"What?" the guy growled.

"I've heard of Team Rocket, now Team Aqua. So......."

"So what?"

"How many other Team Nutheads are there in the Hoenn region?"

The guy growled. "You've got a smart mouth, kid!"

"Why, thank you," I smirked. "I wasn't expecting a compliment from a low-life criminal such as yourself." I formally bowed.

"Ha, let's see if your battling is as good as your smart alec behavior. Poochyena, use Bite!"

Poochyena ran at Sparky, teeth flashing.

"Sparky, jump and use Thundershock!" I ordered.

Sparky jumped into the air and smiled. "Pika-CHUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Electricity shot from its body and hit Poochyena, shocking it and making it fall back.

"Poochyena, get up!" the Team Aqua guy growled.

"Tail Whip!" I commanded.

Poochyena got up, but was a little shaken when it saw Sparky jumped up and spin its tail towards it. It was knocked away and Sparky ran at it again.

"Another Tail Whip, Sparky!" I called.

Sparky nodded and jumped up again, doing a spin, but its tail began shining white. The tail collided with Poochyena and it fell back, crashing into the Team Aqua guy, knocked out.

"You'll regret that!" the Team Aqua guy growled and returned his Pokemon. "Mess with me again and you'll be in for it! But I don't see why I'm wasting my time here when I can just go get what I want from Rustboro City."

The guy took off and the man breathed. "Thank you for rescuing me there."

"No, problem," I murmured, staring at Sparky.

Sparky turned around and looked at me, running over. "Sparky, what attack was that? That wasn't any Tail Whip I've ever seen."

"Pika, Pi," Sparky replied.

"Sparky didn't use Tail Whip," Brock said.

I looked over my shoulder at him. "Then what was it?"

"It's called Iron Tail," Ash replied. "Pikachu used it when we were helping you get rid of Team Rocket the first time we met."

"Iron Tail?" I murmured. "I didn't know Sparky could use that attack."

"Maybe it just learned it," the man smiled.

"Either way," Sara said. "It just proves that Sparky is getting stronger. Poochyena too."

"Pooch!" Poochyena smiled.

"Oh dear!" the man exclaimed.

"What is it?" Ash asked.

"That Team Aqua thug is going to the Devon Building in Rustboro City!" the man fretted. "He's going to get the documents from there! I have to go!"

"Do you want us to come?" Sara asked.

"I don't have time, I have to go!" the man shouted and took off.

"So much for that," Ash muttered.

"Should we follow him anyway?" Brock suggested.

"Nah," Sara grumbled. "If he refuses our help a second time there's no point."

"But, Sara-"

"What?" Sara growled at Brock. "We saved his sorry butt once, isn't that enough?"

Ash and Brock sighed. "I guess so," Brock mumbled.

"Well, this means that Rustboro City isn't far from here," I pointed out. "We're going there anyway so if we run into the man again we can make sure he's alright."

Brock and Ash nodded. "Good idea, Skye."

Sara sighed. "Fine!"

I took out my map. "Oh yeah, Sara, did you know that there's a Pokemon Contest happening in Rustboro City in a few days time?"

Sara's eyes lit up. "Nobody told me that! As soon as we get there I have to start training!"

"I'd like to see what a Pokemon Contest is like," I murmured.

"You'll get to for sure," Ash smiled.

I smiled, but then I frowned.

"What's the matter?" Brock asked.

"I still need to catch at least one more Pokemon and train it before I challenge Roxanne at the gym," I sighed. "Preferably a Water Type, otherwise I won't be able to win it."

"Well there aren't any Water Type Pokemon around here," Brock pointed out. "You'll have to go without a Water Type I guess."

I shrugged. "Alright."

We continued walking through the forest, I was trying to think of what Pokemon I could catch that would be strong enough to tackle Roxanne's Rock Type Pokemon.

"Skitty."

We all stopped as a small pink, kitten-looking Pokemon came out of the bushes. It stopped and looked at us. "Skitty!" it said.

"Wow, a Skitty," Sara murmured.

"You said you needed another Pokemon," Brock told me. "There's your chance."

"You think I should catch it?" I asked.

"Go for it," Ash smiled.

"Alright, Poochyena, you're up," I murmured. "Use Tackle."

Poochyena ran at Skitty and tackled it to the ground.

"Now, use Bite!"

Poochyena bit Skitty by the tail.

"Skitty!" it cried out.

My eyes softened. "Poor thing...."

"Hurry up and catch it!" Sara exclaimed. "Before it gets away!"

I looked back up and nodded, grabbing a Pokeball. I threw it. "Pokeball, go!"

Poochyena jumped back and the Pokeball hit Skitty on the head, pulling it inside. The ball wobbled for a few moments, and then it stopped.

"YES!" I cheered. "I caught it!"

I ran over and picked up the Pokeball that contained my new Pokemon. "I now have three Pokemon!"

"Now you just have to train hard to be able to beat Roxanne," Ash said. "And don't forget, you're not the only one that has to battle her."

I nodded. "Oh yeah, good job, Poochyena. You deserve a rest." I held out its Pokeball and it went inside.

"Come on, let's keep going."

I ran to catch up to my friends and I kept looking at Skitty's Pokeball in my hand. I held it up and kept blinking at it.

"Pika?" Sparky jumped up to my shoulder and looked at me.

"Huh?" I looked back at Sparky, seeing its worried expression. "Oh, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"Pika, Pi?"

"Yes, I'm sure," I smiled.

After a few more minutes, we came out of the trees and found ourselves at the entrance of Rustboro City.

"Well, we're finally here," Sara smiled. "I'll meet up with you guys later, I have to make my way to the Contest Hall and register to get a Pokemon Coordinator's license. This will be my first Contest in Hoenn so I need to sign up."

"We need to register for our gym battles too," Ash said. "Otherwise we won't be able to compete in the Pokemon League."

"I'll go with Sara," Brock said.

"Alright," Sara nodded. "We'll meet you at the Pokemon Center later. Come on, Brock."

I watched as Sara and Brock walked off in one direction.

"Come on, we'll have to go to the Pokemon Center if we wanna register for the Pokemon League," Ash smiled.

I nodded. "Let's go."

"Pika!" Pikachu smiled.

"I'll race you there?" Ash smirked.

I smirked back. "You're on!"

Sparky jumped off my shoulder and Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder. "Pika, Pi!" Sparky cheered.

"Ready," I murmured.

"Set," Ash took a deep breath.

"Wait!" Ash fell forward.

"What the!? What's the hold up!?" he lifted his face from the ground and looked up at me.

"Which way is the Pokemon Center?" I asked.

"SKYE!!!!!!!!!!"

"What?" I mumbled. "It's not my fault. I've never been here before."

Ash sighed and got up. He pointed North. "That way."

"Oh, okay," I smirked. "GO!"

I took off with Sparky by my side.

"Hey, no fair! That's cheating!" Ash called. "Wait for me!!!!!!"

Ash ran after me, trying to catch up with Pikachu keeping up easily.

I laughed as I ran through Rustboro City, looking for the Pokemon Center. "Haha, he should have been ready! What do you think, Sparky?" I looked at my Pokemon.

"Pika, Pikachu!" Sparky smiled at me.

I smiled at Sparky with my eyes closed, the way I smiled when I was really amused.

"PIKA!" Sparky stopped and called out to me instantly.

I opened my eyes but I crashed into someone's chest and fell back, hitting the ground. "OW!"

"You should watch where you're going next time," I heard a growl.

Sparky ran to my side. "Pika, Pi?"

"I'm okay," I murmured and looked up at the person I ran into. "Sorry, I didn't see you."

"Obviously," the guy had short purple hair, a purple jacket half zipped up with black sleeves, a light aqua shirt underneath, brown pants, black shoes, a one shoulder backpack and an expression that made him look like a jerk. He sounded like one too. "Watch it next time."

"Maybe you should have gotten out of my way!" I growled.

"Quit acting like such a little kid and try growing up," the guy said to me.

"Who the heck are you anyway?" I asked.

"The name's Paul from Sinnoh," he answered. "Who are you?"

"I'm Skye," I replied. "I come from this region."

"Well I can't really say it's nice to meet you and shake your hand," Paul smiled in a sarcastic way. "Because you're lying on the ground like an idiot."

I crossed my arms and looked away from him, but I glanced back at him every now and then. "It's not such a pleasure to meet you either!"

He laughed quietly to himself.

"Are you gonna help me up or not?!" I asked, putting my hand up.

"Get yourself up," Paul said to me.

"Well you're the one who made me fall!" I grumbled. "The least that you can do is help me back up."

Paul sighed and put out a hand and I took it. He helped me up and I let go of his hand. "Thanks," I murmured.

Sparky jumped up on my shoulder. "Pika?"

"I'm okay," I repeated to Sparky.

"That's quite a Pikachu you have there," Paul commented, I thought I was hearing things! "It looks pretty powerful."

I blinked at him and tried to clean my ears to make sure I heard him correctly. "Did you just say something nice?"

Paul shrugged.

I also shrugged. "So, what Pokemon do you have? I can tell that you're a trainer. Can I see your Pokemon?"

"They're not so special," Paul murmured. "They're weak, even after all the training they went through."

"Can I still see them?" I asked, not caring that he had an attitude problem.

"Fine," he pulled out two Pokeballs. "Come on out."

They opened up and two Pokemon appeared in front of him, one was an Elekid, the other I had no idea what it was.

I crouched down to look at the tiny red Pokemon with a flame for a tail, it looked like a monkey. "What Pokemon is this?"

"It's called a Chimchar," Paul replied.

"Chimchar!" it said.

"I take it, Chimchar is from the Sinnoh region?"

"Yeah."

"It's cute," I smiled.

"Chim, Chimchar!"

"Are these two the only ones you have?" I asked.

"I also have an Ursaring, but I don't think it would be suitable to let it out here."

"That seems fair," I mumbled, I still wanted to see an Ursaring, too bad.

"Skye!"

I looked over my shoulder to see Ash and Pikachu running towards me. Ash stopped when they reached me. "You okay? Who's this guy?"

"This is Paul," I replied. "I ran into him."

"Literally," Paul added.

"Okay.." Ash murmured. "Nice to meet ya, I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town."

"Kanto region, huh?" Paul asked.

"That's right," Ash nodded. "Which region are you from?"

"Sinnoh."

"Just like Sara," I muttered.

Paul's eyes widened a little bit. "What? She's not here is she?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "I travel around with her, Brock and Ash. She's here in Rustboro City. Why? Do you know her?"

"Only too well," Paul muttered. "I'd better go. Return," he said and his Pokemon went back in their Pokeballs. "See ya around, maybe," Paul turned around but pulled to a complete stop, blinking.

I looked around him to see a very surprised and grumpy looking Sara.

Sara and Paul blinked at each other. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Sara pretty much screamed in his face.

"I could ask you the same question," Paul growled.

Sara looked at me peering around Paul, not even seeing Ash. Her eyes snapped back to Paul. "If you've been flirting with Skye, I'll smash you to Sinnoh and back! And then to Kanto, and Johto!"

"Why would I flirt with _her_?" Paul emphasized _her_.

As much as I didn't like him, that offended me. "Are you trying to get something off your chest, because if you got something to say, then say it!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Paul muttered. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"Alright, then get out of here, Paul!" Sara growled.

Paul looked at me for a moment before smiling a little and walking off.

"Why do you hate him?" Ash asked.

"Oh, so you caught on," Sara sighed. "Well, long story short: He used to like me, I rejected him and he turned into...... _**that**_!" she pointed in the direction he took.

"Wow," I muttered. "No wonder you thought he might have been flirting with me. But that was just plain rude!"

"Don't worry about it, Skye," Ash said. "He just has an attitude problem."

"I gathered as much," I murmured. "Anyway.... where's Brock?"

Sara sighed. "He went off to flirt with Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny."

"Is that normal?" I asked.

"Yep," Ash and Sara said together.

I blinked. "......................................................... okay.............................................. That's weird."

"Not for him it isn't," Ash said. "So, Sara, did the registration go well?"

Sara nodded. "I enter in a few days when the Contest starts."

"Do you know which Pokemon you'll be entering?" Ash asked.

"Yep. I'll be using Buneary for the first rounds and if I make it to the second rounds, I'll use Eevee."

"Contests really are different, aren't they?" I mumbled.

"Yep, I'll show you tomorrow when I start training for it."

"Well I know I don't need to train very hard to beat Roxanne and her Rock Type Pokemon. Pikachu, Phanpy and Totodile will take care of it quickly."

"Lucky for you," I muttered. "I have to train super hard to beat her!"

"You'll get there," Ash put a hand on my shoulder. "I'll help you."

"Thanks," I smiled.

"Now," Ash smirked. "Ready, set, go!" He took off with Pikachu running after him.

"HEY!" I called. "Cheater! Wait for me! I wasn't ready!" I bolted after him, Sparky ran at my side.

Sara blinked as the wind rushed passed her face. It took her a few seconds to turn around. "HEY! WAIT FOR ME! YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAMN CITY!!!!!!!"

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

I looked up from Sparky and Skitty playing whilst Poochyena slept, to see Ash walking in with a great big smile. "What are you so cheerful about?"

"I just beat Roxanne," Ash smirked.

"You........ YOU WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" I jumped up, waking Poochyena and alerting Sparky and Skitty. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE GOING TO BATTLE HER!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

"Sorry," Ash mumbled. "But I really wanted to challenge her and you guys were exhausted. I would have let you come but........."

"I DON'T CARE IF I WAS EXHAUSTED, DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH EXPERIENCE I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN FROM THAT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

"Skye, I'm sorry, okay," Ash was scared.

I sighed. "Don't worry about it. I'll just have to deal with it by myself."

"I really am sorry," Ash mumbled.

"No, it's fine," I smiled. "Really."

"Is there any way I can make it up to you?"

I thought for a moment. "You can help me train."

We had been in Rustboro City for one whole day and a bit, Sara and Brock were out searching the place for museums and all.

Ash nodded. "Wanna train now?"

I jumped up. "Alright. Sparky, Poochyena, Skitty, you guys ready for some serious training?"

"Pika!"

"Poochyena!"

"Skitty!"

"Great!" I smiled. "Let's go."

I returned Poochyena and Skitty into their Pokeballs and I ran out of the Pokemon Center with Ash, Sparky and Pikachu.

We ran through Rustboro City to go out into the forest to start my training, I was racing Ash again, and I was beating him.

"SOMEONE HELP ME!"

I pulled to an immediate stop and looked to see a huge, fancy building, a man ran out and ahead of him was two guys dressed in blue pants, a black and white striped tops and blue bandannas with a symbol at the front. The two men ran passed us, one of them glared at me and I knew I recognized him. I had beaten him the other day to protect the man they had just stolen from.

"What the? Was that people from Team Aqua?" Ash murmured.

I nodded. "It sure is."

"Please! You have to help me again!" the man ran over to us, it was the guy we had protected in Petalburg forest! "They stole the documents that Devon Corp. needs to finish a submarine expedition!"

I looked down at Sparky, my Pokemon looked back up at me with a nod. "You can count on us, sir!" I said. "We'll get those documents back for you. You coming, Ash?"

"Of course!" Ash said and we took off after the two Team Aqua guys.

"Pika!" Sparky growled and turned into the forest.

"Lead the way, Sparky," Ash breathed as we ran into the forest.

We ran and ran, passing a lot of wild Pokemon, but our main goal was to find Team Aqua.

Sparky looked around for clues, but had no luck.

"Try Poochyena," Ash suggested.

"Oh yeah," I grabbed Poochyena's Pokeball. "Poochyena, we need you!"

Poochyena came out and looked at me. "Poochyena, please, we need you to track the scent of the two Team Aqua guys. One of them is the one we battled the other day so you should remember the scent."

Poochyena nodded and looked around, sniffing the ground.

"This is taking too long!" Ash complained. "I know Poochyena is really trying, but they might get away!"

"Poochyena!" Poochyena barked and I looked at it, it nodded to me and started running through the forest, we ran after it.

"Looks like Poochyena found their scent," I smiled.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered.

"Pika, Pi!" Sparky was the same.

We ran on and on until we found a tunnel, Poochyena was growling into it.

"Excuse me!"

Ash and I looked to the side and saw an elderly man, looking very distressed. "Yes?" I asked.

"Can you help me?" he begged. "These two thugs came out of nowhere and took off with my dear Peeko!"

I looked at Ash and he looked back at me. "Team Aqua," Ash concluded and I nodded.

"Of course we'll help," I said. "We'll get your Pokemon back."

"Pika!" Pikachu growled and reminded us of our job.

I hesitated for a moment, staring at the cave mouth, but I was determined to do my job, so we ran into the cave with our Pokemon at our sides.

"OW! Ash that was my foot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I growled.

"Sorry, but it's so dark in this cave I can't see my own feet!" Ash growled back.

"Pika!" Sparky growled at Ash.

"Poochyena!" Poochyena was getting impatient.

"It would help if we could see!" Ash grumbled.

"Well does it look like I carry matches with me for these occasions!" I snapped.

"I didn't say that!" Ash muttered. "Geez, when did you get so snappy!?"

"EXCUSE ME!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" I nearly screamed. "I AM NOT SNAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"You sound pretty snappy at the moment-"

"Shut up already!" I snapped.

"Pika!"

"Pikachu!"

Sparky and Pikachu were trying to stop us from fighting, and not having much luck.

"Why don't you make me?" Ash poked his tongue out, not that I could see.

"Alright, that's it!" I growled and tackled him to the ground. "I'll _**make**_ you shut up! I may not have matches but I have duck tape!"

"Why the hell do you have duck tape!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Ash growled.

"I bought it while a certain _**SOMEONE**_ was battling Roxanne without telling me!" I replied and grabbed the duck tape, putting it to his mouth.

I could hear him mumbling protest and trying to get it off, but then something hit me in the face and I fell back, hitting my back against the cave wall. "What the hell was that for, Ash!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

Ash mumbled something else and I was hit again.

"OW!"

"Pika!" Sparky and Pikachu growled.

"Poochyena!" Poochyena was the same.

"Alright, Sparky!" I growled. "Use Thundershock!"

Sparky hesitated, but used the attack anyway. The cave was lit up and the first thing I saw was a huge scary, bear face. Too bad the Thundershock hit Ash, even though that was the idea.

Ash ripped the duck tape off. "What the hell-"

I rushed over to Ash and covered his mouth. "Keep it down!" I whispered, my voice was shaky.

"Pikachu!" Sparky growled.

"Pika!" Pikachu stood beside my buddy.

"Poochyena!"

Ash took my hand away. "What is going on?" he whispered.

I heard footsteps and me and Ash were getting freaked out as the footsteps stopped and I heard a growling from the huge bear Pokemon I saw.

"You two are pathetic," I heard a voice and I screamed with fear.

"Ursaring, use Flash."

The cave was suddenly lit up and I saw the bear Pokemon, I screamed again.

"Stop screaming!" Ash growled.

"Make me! I'll scream if I want to!" I growled back.

"He's got a point," the voice said again and I turned my head to look passed the Ursaring to see Paul, I screamed again.

Ash put a hand on my shoulder and I screamed once more, jumping up and tripping on a rock, crashing into Ursaring. I fell to the ground on my back and looked up at the Ursaring. It growled and my eyes widened with fear.

"Please don't scream again," Paul covered his ears when Ursaring growled at me again.

My body shook as I looked up into the angry gaze and I shut my eyes tight. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

My scream bounced off the walls and it felt like the whole cave shook. Rocks fell from the roof and one hit me on the head, stopping me from screaming.

"I think you have a new purpose for that duck tape," Ash muttered. "You've given me a massive headache!"

"Pika, Pi," Sparky and Pikachu were covering their ears, Poochyena was lying on the ground, its paws over its ears.

Ursaring growled at me again.

"Ursaring, get back!" Paul ordered and the Pokemon did as it was told. Paul walked over to me. "It won't hurt you so _**please**_ be quiet. Here, let me help you up."

I blinked up at Paul, he put a hand out and I took it. He helped me up and I glanced at Ursaring. "Thanks, Paul," I mumbled. "Sorry guys."

"But what are you doing here anyway?" Ash asked.

"Looking for new Pokemon," Paul replied. "Two guys ran passed me before. Don't know where they thought they were going, the cave is closed off. You can't get through to the other end."

"It must be Team Aqua!" I was suddenly unafraid. "Come on, Ash, we have to catch up with them!"

"Paul, could you come with us?" Ash asked. "Your Ursaring could come in handy with the light situation."

I looked from Paul, to Ash, and then to Ursaring. Ursaring looked at me with its scary eyes and I yelped before hiding in front of Paul, I grabbed his jacket and buried my face in his shirt.

"Uh.......... you mind?" Paul mumbled.

"No, that Ursaring is freaking me out!" I said. "So I'm hiding with you. You'll protect me because you're Ursaring's trainer."

"Uh.. Skye?" Ash sighed. "What are you doing?"

"That Ursaring is giving me glares!" I grumbled. "So what does it look like I'm doing!?"

Paul just blinked down at me, not stopping me from being so close to him, but I knew he was really tensed up from the shock.

"Pika?" Sparky tilted its head to one side, looking at me. Sparky looked at Paul and the purple-haired boy shrugged.

"Skye? Don't you think we should be going after Team Aqua now?" Ash reminded me.

I turned my head to look at Ash, then I looked up at Paul. "As long as you keep Ursaring away from me."

Paul nodded. "Alright."

I let go of Paul's jacket and stepped away from him, trying to avoid Ursaring's glares.

"Let's get going," Ash sighed.

My eyes finally looked at Ursaring and it growled. I quickly covered my face with one arm and pointed at Ursaring. "If I can't see you, you can't see me! Which means you can't glare at me anymore! Now, let's go after Team Aqua."

I took a step to the side, knowing if I walked forward I would crash into Paul again, but it was a mistake, I leaned too far and walked too far to the side and I crashed against one of the cave walls. "OOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I yelled.

Ash walked over to me and took my arm away from my face. "Maybe that might help."

"Just a little I suppose..." I muttered.

Paul turned back to his Pokemon. "Alright, Ursaring, lead the way back through the cave."

Ursaring nodded and turned, walking deeper into the cave.

I walked in between Paul and Ash, following the bright light that Ursaring was giving off from the ring on its stomach. Sparky jumped up on my shoulder, Pikachu jumped up on Ash's shoulder and Poochyena walked in front of me.

"We're lucky we ran into you, Paul," Ash smiled. "Otherwise we wouldn't be able to figure out which way to go."

"Only I'm not lucky to have a not-so-scary Pokemon that can use Flash," Paul looked at me and I looked at the ground, embarrassed. "Otherwise I wouldn't have a headache."

"I'm sorry," I murmured. "I... I just got scared."

"It's not like you to get scared," Ash said to me.

"Well...... I don't really like caves......" I sighed. "They scare me, and of course Ursaring scared me."

Ursaring growled and looked over its shoulder at me and I quickly hid behind Ash. Ursaring looked back to where it was going and I breathed.

Ursaring suddenly stopped and I looked around Ash to see passed Ursaring, there were two people there, one guy holding some papers and the other tightly holding a Wingull.

"It's Team Aqua," Ash growled.

"And they've got the old man's Pokemon," I growled and stepped out from behind Ash, walking towards the Team Aqua guys. I stopped beside Ursaring, ignoring its glares. "HEY! TEAM AQUA! OVER HERE YOU STUPID CROOKS!"

The Team Aqua guys spun around with shock and saw me, Ursaring, Paul and Ash, not to mention Poochyena, Sparky and Pikachu.

"Well, she can be brave when she has to be," Ash smiled. "She's definitely something."

Paul laughed to himself quietly and walked to stand beside me, Ash came over too.

"Not you kids again!" one of the guys growled.

"Oh yes, us again," I smirked. "Ready to kick your butt again! Now hand over the documents _**and**_ the Pokemon!"

"Why don't you make us, kid?" the other guy smiled. "Hey, Nick, let's take em out."

"Sure thing, Shaun."

"Ursaring, use Hyper Beam," Paul mumbled.

Ursaring started up a Hyper Beam. "NO! DON'T DO THAT! STOP!"

Ursaring stopped and everyone looked at me.

"Not only will Hyper Beam hurt that Wingull, it will destroy those documents that we have to get back."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Ash said.

The two Team Aqua guys threw a Pokeball each, out came a Poochyena from Nick, from Shaun was a Crawdaunt.

"Sparky, you ready?" I asked.

"Pika!" Sparky replied and jumped in front of me.

"Go, Phanpy!" Ash threw a Pokeball and out came his Phanpy.

"Phanpy!" it smiled.

"Poochyena, you too," I added.

"You can't defeat us," Nick smiled. "Not this time, kids."

"Elekid, stand by for battle," Paul said and his Elekid appeared.

"Oh, I think we will," I smirked. "Sparky, Thundershock! Poochyena, Shadow Ball!"

Sparky nodded and let out a Thundershock. Poochyena opened its mouth and a black sphere appeared. It closed its mouth and the ball shot out.

The Thundershock and the Shadow Ball flew at the two Team Aqua guys.

"Elekid, help out with Thunderbolt," Paul said.

The three attacks hit Team Aqua's Pokemon and their Poochyena was down at once. Nick returned it.

"Crawdaunt, use Bubblebeam!" Shaun ordered.

I quickly called Poochyena and Sparky back. Elekid got ready for the attack to hit.

I grabbed another Pokeball and threw it. "Skitty! Come on out!"

Skitty appeared. "Skitty!"

"Alright, Skitty, use Swift!" I ordered.

Skitty jumped up and opened its mouth. Golden stars flew out of its mouth and the bubbles were popped.

"Phanpy, your turn!" Ash smiled. "Use Rollout!"

Phanpy curled up into a tight ball and started rolling towards Crawdaunt, really fast.

Phanpy hit Crawdaunt and it crashed back into Team Aqua, making Shaun let go of Wingull and Nick dropped the documents.

"Skitty and Sparky, go get the documents," I said and my two Pokemon ran forwards, starting to quickly gather the papers.

"Crawdaunt, use Crab Hammer!" Shaun yelled.

Sparky and Skitty had all the papers in their hands and mouth, but they couldn't attack.

"Elekid, use Thunderpunch!" Paul said and Elekid ran forward, electricity coming from its left fist.

I closed my eyes but opened them again to see Elekid punching Crawdaunt away from Sparky and Skitty. "Guys, get back here!" I called.

My two Pokemon ran back to me and I took the documents from them, shoving them in my bag.

"Elekid, back here."

"Phanpy, you too," Ash said.

The two Pokemon ran back and Paul looked at Ursaring. "Now, use Hyper Beam."

Ursaring nodded and opened its mouth, a yellow sphere forming.

I returned Poochyena and Skitty and Sparky was beside me. Paul returned Elekid and Ash returned Phanpy. Wingull perched on Ash's shoulder.

"Do it!" Paul ordered Ursaring and the bear Pokemon let the power loose. A huge yellow beam shot out at Team Aqua and there was a huge explosion. Smoke rose up everywhere and rocks flew everywhere, I was suddenly covered by something warm but my eyes were closed so I couldn't tell what it was and I was forced to crouch down.

When the smoke and all cleared up, I blinked my eyes open and finally realized what happened, Paul had put his arms around me and forced me to the ground to stop me from getting hurt.

He coughed roughly and we both stood up. "Are you okay?" he asked whilst coughing, it sounded terrible.

"I'm fine," I replied. "What about you? That cough is really bad."

Paul shrugged and I looked over to check if Ash was okay, he was looking at Paul, his body tense. "Ash? Are you alright?" I asked, running over to him.

"I'm okay," he replied. "I'm glad to see that you are."

I looked at Sparky, it was okay, Ursaring had picked it up and turned around to protect it from getting hurt. I sighed with relief and looked over to the two Team Aqua guys, they were knocked out, and Crawdaunt was no better.

"Let's get out of here," Paul said, still coughing.

I left Ash and stood beside Paul, helping him with one hand on his shoulder and the other against his chest. We slowly left the cave with the documents and the Wingull known as Peeko, and when we got out, the old man was waiting.

"Peeko!" he bellowed and rushed over to us, the Wingull flew over to him. "Thank you so much for getting Peeko back for me."

"No problems," Ash replied, a hint of a growl in his tone as he glanced at me and Paul.

"We have to keep going," I murmured. "Nurse Joy has to see to Paul quickly."

Ash growled. "Yeah, sure, let's go." _The sooner she's away from that creep, the better_, he thought.

Ursaring looked down at me and I looked back up at it, not afraid anymore, I was surprised when Ursaring nodded to me and smiled a little bit.

"Ursaring, return," Paul said and made it go back into its Pokeball, the he started a coughing fit.

"Damn," I muttered. "Come on, let's hurry up."

We made our way through the forest with Sparky leading the way so we didn't get lost. We eventually made it back to Rustboro City and I was still at Paul's side.

"Ash," I murmured. "Paul needs to be checked out as soon as possible, and the man needs the documents. Could you take the documents to him while I get Paul to the Pokemon Center."

Ash looked at Paul and sighed. "Fine, alright."

I let Paul stand on his own for a little bit while I reached into my bag. I grabbed the documents and gave them to Ash. I put my bag back on and supported Paul again, his cough sounded like it was getting worse. "You've breathed in too much of the smoke from the Hyper Beam attack."

"Oh well, at least you're okay," Paul replied.

I felt my face burning up and my cheeks went red. Ash growled. "Come on, Pikachu!"

I looked up as Ash and Pikachu ran off, I had heard the growl from Ash and was a little worried.

"He sounds a bit angry," Paul mumbled.

"He'll get over it," I replied. "We need to worry about you at the moment." I helped him through Rustboro City towards the Pokemon Center.


	5. Roxanne

"Hurry up, Brock!"

"I would if I could see in front of me!" Brock complained, trying to move the boxes of stuff to see around. "Why did you have to get so much stuff? We're not living in Rustboro City!"

"I'll stash it in my bag somehow," Sara smiled. "Or I'll just get you to carry it all."

"Gee, thanks," Brock sighed.

Sara appeared around the boxes with a huge grin. "You're welcome!"

It scared Brock and he fell back, dropping the boxes.

Sara shrugged. "Hurry up and clean this up. People will think you're a homeless person."

Brock rolled his eyes. _Why couldn't Ash come with her today_?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Sara looked around and her eyes widened when they spotted something, Brock could almost see a twinkle in her eyes. "What is it, this time?" Brock asked nervously.

"IT IS SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara nearly screamed, running to a window, pressing her hands up against the glass looking down at what she had spotted.

"What is it?" Brock asked. "What are you so excited about?"

"I have to get one of those!" Sara bolted into the shop and Brock sat up, waiting for her to come back.

After a few minutes, Sara came back out with a huge grin on her face and holding something on her back, something really big.

"SARA! WHY DID YOU GET THAT!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Brock yelled.

Sara smiled. "It's cute, eh? I just love Ursaring teddies!"

Brock fell back again, hitting his head with his hand. "You've got to be kidding me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Sara saw a family walking passed, the little kid looked up at her holding the Ursaring teddy.

She shrugged and walked back over to Brock. "Hurry up so we can go shopping some more, Brock!"

"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Brock yelled dramatically.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Nurse Joy!"

"Yes, what is it?"

"We were in this cave in the forest and there was an explosion and Paul breathed in too much of the smoke. His cough is terrible! Can you help him? Please!"

"It's not that big of a deal," Paul said, but started coughing again.

"Yes it is!" I replied.

"I'll do what I can," Nurse Joy said and typed something on her computer. In seconds, two Chansey came out with a stretcher and Nurse Joy came around her desk, taking Paul from me and making him lie down on the stretcher. "Chansey, come on," she said.

Chansey took Paul into the emergency room and I tried to follow, but Nurse Joy stopped me. "You should go to the waiting room."

"But-"

"Paul will be fine, I promise you," Nurse Joy smiled.

"Okay," I sighed and Nurse Joy went after Chansey and I looked down at Sparky.

"Pika, Pi..." Sparky mumbled.

"Yeah, I hope he's alright too, Sparky," I replied. "Let's go to the waiting room."

Sparky and I trudged to the waiting room and we sat down. Ten minutes passed and I eventually stood up, pacing around, Sparky watched me going back at forth.

Ten more minutes and I was sitting upside down on the seat, kicking my legs back and forth in the air, looking at the door that was upside down.

Five more minutes and I had fallen asleep, curled up on the seat.

I heard footsteps and they stopped in front of me. I slowly opened my eyes and looked up, blinking at the person that stood in front of me. I closed my eyes again, but then I figured out who it was and my eyes snapped open again and I was fully awake.

I jumped to my feet and smiled. "Paul! You're okay!"

"Yeah," Paul replied. "Nurse Joy did something that stopped most of the coughing."

"Isn't it all gone now?" I was worried.

"She said the coughing will continue for a few more days, but not so bad," Paul looked down at me, I was smiling, but with a few tears in my eyes. "You're not going to cry are you?"

I shook my head. "I'm just really glad you're okay. I didn't get a chance to thank you for helping me back in the tunnel."

"Yeah, it could have been you in there," Paul looked back to the doors he came out of. "I'm glad it wasn't you though."

I hugged him, taking him by surprise, worse than earlier. "Thank you, Paul. I really appreciate all you did for us today."

"No worries," Paul replied. "And you know what?"

I let him go and looked up at him. "What?"

"You're a very good trainer."

I felt my face heat up and I knew my cheeks were going red. "Really?"

"Yeah. For a brand new trainer, you're very good at battling and determining which move is the right one to use."

"Thanks, Paul," I smiled.

"Hey guys."

We turned our heads to see Ash and Pikachu returning. "Hey, Ash!" I said cheerfully.

"Hi," Ash replied, putting on a smile. "Paul, it's good to see you're okay."

"Thanks, I think," Paul muttered.

I looked at Paul, he was acting differently now, before he was friendly, now he didn't seem so friendly. I shrugged. "What did the man say, Ash?" I asked, turning back to my friend.

"He was really grateful and he asked us to deliver them to Slateport City," Ash replied. "And he said to deliver a letter to some guy called Steven in Dewford Town."

"Okay," I smiled. "That sounds alright."

"So, when are you going to start training your Pokemon?" Ash asked me.

"Tomorrow," I answered. "Today has been way too eventful so I think my Pokemon need a break."

"Good idea."

Hours later it was getting dark, Paul told me that he had been staying at the Pokemon Center too, but I hadn't known. After some persuasion I convinced Ash to let Paul stay with us in our room, and then I had to convince Paul to stay in our room, it took a lot of convincing.

It was nine o'clock at night and I was fast asleep, Ash and Paul were as well, and Sparky, Poochyena and Skitty were asleep on the other end of my bed, Pikachu was sleeping beside Ash's head, Paul kept his Pokemon inside their Pokeballs. Brock and Sara hadn't come back yet.

"We should go look for them," Ash had said.

"They'll be fine!" I had insisted. "I'm tired and I don't feel like running around the city looking for them."

It was twelve o'clock when I half woke up, feeling someone shaking me. "Skye! Skye! Skye! Skye! Skye!" someone was whispering to me.

I opened my eyes and all of a sudden, the face of an Ursaring was right in front of me. I blinked at it for a second, thinking it was Paul's Ursaring. "RAWR!" 'it' growled.

Fear rose up in my gut and I took in a deep breath. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I jumped out of bed and fell over, tripping on one of the bed legs and I saw Sara standing beside my bed, a huge Ursaring teddy in her hands.

"WHAT!? What's going on!?" Ash was wide awake.

"What the?" Paul woke up as well.

My heart was racing and my breathing was able to be heard as I blinked at Sara and the Ursaring teddy.

"Sorry..." Sara muttered. "But did you have to scream so loud?"

"What happened?" Paul asked.

Sara walked over to Paul, as much as she hated him, and shoved the teddy right in his face. "RAWR!" she made a cute roaring sound and he leaned back. My eyes followed the teddy the whole time.

"Geez, Skye, are you alright?" Ash asked, jumping down from the bunk-bed and crouching beside me.

"I didn't mean to scare her" Sara mumbled.

"What did you do to make her scream so loud?" Ash asked Sara.

"I just put my Ursaring teddy in her face when I woke her up," Sara looked at her teddy. "It's not that scary, is it?"

"It is when you've been in a cave with a real Ursaring that keeps glaring at you and growling," Ash grumbled. "Because she screamed a lot in that cave."

Sara looked at me, my eyes wide with fear, staring at the teddy without blinking and my breathing fast and loud.

"Skye?" Paul murmured and got out of bed, coming over to my other side and crouching down. "Are you alright?"

Sara blinked. "Wait, what cave? What Ursaring? Why wasn't I there?"

"You were busy doing what you were doing," Ash replied. "Whatever it was. It was Paul's Ursaring. And we chased some Team Aqua guys in there who stole some documents and a Pokemon."

Sara looked back at me, my eyes still wide with fear. The image of the teddy right in my face replayed over and over and over again, making my heart pound.

Nurse Joy suddenly rushed in. "What's the problem?"

"Skye just had a fright," Paul answered.

"It was an accident," Sara murmured. "I swear it was."

I tried to get my breathing under control, but it was hard.

Nurse Joy came over to me and Paul and Ash had to stand up and stand back while she checked me. She checked my heart rate, my pulse, the shakiness in my body and she looked at my eyes, everything was off the charts. "What happened to make her this terrified?"

"I just put my teddy in her face," Sara answered.

Not once did my eyes trail from the teddy Sara was hugging, it looked scarier than a real Ursaring, which was probably why I got more frightened than usual.

"Skye, I'm really sorry," Sara said.

"No.... that's.... fine...." even my voice was shaky as I forced the words out.

Nurse Joy breathed at last. "She's okay, but she needs a good night sleep. I have to go now."

She got up and she left the room, I had to force myself to slow my breathing and after a few minutes, I was breathing normally again and my heart stopped pounding.

"Skye?"

I finally dragged my gaze away from the teddy and looked up at Ash, my eyes still showed my fear.

"It's okay," Ash tried to calm me a little more and I nodded.

"Pika?" Sparky was beside me, looking up at me, so was Poochyena and Skitty.

"I'm alright...." I murmured and Sparky jumped into my arms, hugging me, I hugged it back.

"Where's Brock, anyway, Sara?" Ash asked. "Wasn't he with you today?"

"Yeah," Sara looked over her shoulder. "He's coming."

After a few moments, Brock came in, but tripped and dropped all the boxes he had been carrying that blocked him from seeing in front of him.

The boxes fell open and I saw a heap of Pokemon teddies fall out. Sara smiled and jumped to the floor, rolling around like a child and throwing them in the air, laughing whilst doing it.

I stood up, a little shaky, and I headed for the balcony, I needed air.

Paul followed me outside and I sat down at the table, he sat down beside me. "You alright?"

I nodded. "I am now. I just need to calm down a little bit."

"I guess I can understand why you were so scared," Paul looked through the glass to my friends. "That Ursaring looks scarier than a real one, and shoving it in your face in the middle of the night is bound to freak you out."

"Yeah, but oh well...." I looked up at the stars, they were so pretty, and the full moon shone brightly. "My throat hurts."

"I wonder why," Paul said sarcastically.

My eyes started drooping and I fell asleep on my chair instantly. Paul sighed and stood up, walking over to me and picking me up in his arms. He carried me back inside and everyone watched as he put me back on my bed. In my sleep I was cold so I grabbed the blanket and pulled it over me.

"Paul," Sara murmured and he looked at her. "If you hurt her, I'll kill you."

Paul nodded. "I know."

Sara smiled with a convincing smile and went back to rolling in her teddies.

"You went shopping for........ teddies?" Ash was wide-eyed.

"Yep!"

"Keep it down or you'll wake up Skye," Paul said.

"Oh, sorry!" Sara whispered.

After a while the others went to sleep, Sara fell asleep in her mountain of teddies.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Skye, wake up already!"

"Why not just let her sleep for a bit longer?"

"Well she needs to start training her Pokemon if she ever wants to beat Roxanne!" Ash grumbled. "Come on, Skye, wake up!"

I blinked my eyes open and yawned. "What?"

"You have to start training today," Ash smiled. "Your Pokemon need to get stronger."

I sat up and looked at my three Pokemon, they were wide awake, sitting on the end of my bed. "Okay, let's go."

I looked up and I also saw Paul. "Oh, hi, I didn't see you there."

I got out of bed and went to the bathroom to get dressed into my everyday clothes, then I came back and Ash and Paul were waiting in silence.

"Where's Sara and Brock?" I asked.

"Already down in the forest training," Ash replied.

"Sara said she couldn't wait for you to get up," Paul added.

I shrugged and pulled out Poochyena's and Skitty's Pokeball. "Alright you two, return."

They both went into their Pokeballs and Sparky jumped up onto my shoulder.

"Pika," Sparky greeted Pikachu.

"Pi, Pikachu," Pikachu replied with a smile.

"Let's go," Ash said and the three of us walked out of the Pokemon Center together. I walked in between my two friends as we went through Rustboro City towards the forest.

We eventually came to the forest and we found our other two friends in a large clearing, Sara had her Buizel out of its Pokeball with Eevee facing it.

"Alright, Buizel, use Aqua Jet!" Sara ordered. "Eevee, use Swift!"

I watched as Buizel jumped through the air, water surrounding it and shooting out behind it.

Eevee jumped up and golden stars flew out of its mouth, they circled around the Aqua Jet attack and Buizel broke free of it, kicking the stars away.

Sparkling drops of water fell towards the ground, as well as many tiny stars from the Swift Attack.

"Wow, that's so pretty," I murmured. "But why aren't they damaging each other?"

"A Pokemon Contest is different to a battle," Ash said. "The trainer wants to show off their Pokemon, making them look beautiful to the audience to get more points. Damaging the other Pokemon won't give you more points, unless it was a beautiful attack."

"Oh," I muttered and smiled. "It's still cool."

We walked over and Sara spotted us. "Hi guys.... Hi, Paul."

"We saw that last attack," Ash smiled. "It was great."

"I just made it up," Sara looked proud of herself. "An Aqua Jet and a Swift attack look great together."

"But you know that doesn't help Eevee," Ash reminded her. "That gives points to Buizel for using the Swift attack and the Aqua Jet."

Sara sighed. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that."

"Don't worry about it," Brock said. "There's still two more days before the Contest."

"You're right," Sara smiled. "Okay guys, back to work."

"Come on over here, Skye," Ash told me and I followed him to an area beside where Sara was practicing. Paul went to sit with Brock. "Alright, send out one of your Pokemon."

I nodded and grabbed a Pokeball. "Alright, Skitty, you're up!"

Skitty appeared in front of me with a smile. "Skitty!"

Ash sent out his Totodile, it jumped in the air and danced around.

"You can have the first attack," Ash said.

"Thanks," I smiled. "Alright, Skitty, use Swift!"

Skitty was watching Eevee, the small brown Pokemon was using Swift as well, making it rise up into the air, then it jumped up and hit them with its tail and sent them crashing into Buizel.

"Um, Skitty?" I said.

Skitty looked at me. "Use Swift on Totodile."

Skitty nodded and tilted its head up, making the golden stars rise up into the air. The stars spun around in circles and Skitty jumped up in the middle of it, its tail shining white and it hit them all with its tail. Some of the stars flew at Totodile but the others were hit and made into even smaller stars that fell to the ground, looking really pretty.

Totodile easily avoided the Swift attack by dancing and spinning.

"That looked more like a Contest move," Ash muttered.

"I don't know what just happened," I replied. "Skitty's never done that before."

"Maybe it was watching Eevee," Brock laughed. "It was interested in Eevee's Swift Attack."

"Oh well," Ash said. "Alright Totodile, Water Gun!"

Totodile opened its mouth and water shot out at Skitty.

"Okay, Skitty- Skitty what are you doing!?"

Skitty jumped into the water gun and used Swift, making the water spray everywhere in tiny little droplets whereas the stars flew into the sky and exploded into tiny stars.

"Another Contest move," Ash sighed.

"Skitty, what are you doing?!" I growled. "You're supposed to fight, not make an appealing show!"

"Skitty!" Skitty smiled.

"Eevee, Quick Attack! Buizel, you too!"

I watched Eevee and Buizel run at each other, a white light shining behind them. They hit and fell back, Buizel sent out a Water Gun and hit Eevee, making it fly even further away. Then Buizel used Aqua Jet and jumped through the air, water all around it, and it crashed down on Eevee.

"Buizel!" Sara called. "No! I didn't tell you to do that!"

We all ran over to where Eevee and Buizel were, Buizel stood proud of its win because Eevee had been knocked out.

"Buizel!" Sara growled. "You weren't supposed to do that! You're supposed to use Contest moves, not battle moves!"

"Buizel...." Buizel hung its head.

"I've got the same problem," I told Sara. "Skitty wants to use Contest moves instead of battle moves."

"It seems to me like Buizel prefers batting and Skitty prefers to show off its moves," Paul murmured.

"Really?" Sara and I said at the same time and we looked at our Pokemon.

"What do we do about that?" I asked.

"You could always trade your Pokemon," Brock suggested.

"Trade?" I was confused.

"Yeah, trainers do it all the time," Ash smiled. "I once traded my Butterfree for a Raticate, but I missed Butterfree so much that I traded back."

"You think I should trade Buizel for Skye's Skitty?" Sara asked Brock.

"Well it seems that each Pokemon prefers the different style," Brock sighed. "It's up to the two of you to decide, no one can force you."

I looked down at Skitty, it was happy, smiling widely after its stunning appeal. Buizel still looked proud that it had defeated Eevee. _What should I do_? I thought to myself, looking at Sara, she was looking at Buizel.

Sara looked at me. "Buizel would definitely be a great help against Roxanne."

"Yeah, I guess," I murmured. "And Skitty has really good Contest moves."

I knew it would be difficult for Sara, she'd had Buizel for a while. I hadn't had Skitty for a while, but I was sad at thinking of giving it to someone else.

"We'll go back to the Pokemon Center so Nurse Joy can explain it better," Brock suggested.

We nodded and returned our Pokemon before returning to Rustboro City.

I held Skitty's Pokeball up to my face and I couldn't stop staring at it.

"Pika, Pi?" Sparky said to me.

I looked at Sparky on my shoulder. "I don't know," I murmured. I looked over to Sara, she had Buizel's Pokeball in her hand, looking at it.

"You okay?" Ash asked me, walking beside me.

I looked at him and nodded. "Just unsure."

Ash smiled comfortingly. "This happens, I was the same when I was asked to trade Butterfree."

"And you traded it?"

"Yeah, but after that, Team Rocket guys attacked and I called out for Butterfree, but Raticate came out of the Pokeball instead. I missed Butterfree so much because I had raised it from a Caterpie and trained it. I still remember the day Butterfree evolved from Metapod, it was amazing. That experience made me want to trade back."

"So, if I miss Skitty too much, I can trade back?"

"Yeah, if Sara wants to as well of course. But it's not like you won't see Skitty again, it will just be with Sara."

"I know..... but still........."

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Hello."

"Hello Nurse Joy," Sara said.

"How can I help you?" she asked.

"Well," Brock said, kneeling on one knee in front of her with her hands in his. "We could start with a romantic dinner, and then maybe a walk on the beach, or a walk through the forest-"

"Can it, lover-boy!" Sara sighed, punching him in the back of the head and dragging him away from Nurse Joy.

"What's wrong with Brock?" I asked.

"Nothing," Ash replied instantly. "Not for him anyway. He does that every time he meets a pretty girl."

"Oh," I murmured. "He's strange."

"So, if you're here in this room, you must be here to trade Pokemon," Nurse Joy murmured.

"We've been thinking about it," Sara said, coming back. "But we're still not sure about it."

Nurse Joy saw me looking at Skitty's Pokeball again.

"Well, firstly, you need to think of your Pokemon," Nurse Joy said and I looked up.

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you thinking of trading?"

"Oh, because my Skitty wants to be in Contests but I'm going to compete in the Pokemon League, and Buizel wants to be in gym battles but Sara is going to compete in Contests," I replied.

"I see. Well if your Pokemon want to do those things, you need to let them," Nurse Joy sighed. "You have to do what's best for your Pokemon."

_What would be best for Skitty, is to let it go with Sara_, I thought.

Sara looked thoughtful and looked down at Buizel's Pokeball before turning to me. She nodded. "I think Buizel should go with you, Skye. I've always known it wants to be in gym battles, but I didn't want to trade it to someone I didn't really know. But I know you'd take good care of Buizel."

I nodded. "Then I'll let Skitty go with you," I murmured. "Skitty has proven that it wants to show off more than battle, so I trust you'll take good care of Skitty."

"So is it settled?" Nurse Joy asked and we both nodded. "Okay, put your Pokeballs on either side of this machine."

It was a huge box thing, with tubes on either side. Below each of the two tubes, there was a little crater thing to put your Pokeball. I walked to the left and looked at Skitty's Pokeball. "This is for the best," I murmured to it and placed it below the tube in the crater thing.

I looked over to Sara, who placed Buizel's Pokeball in the other one. "Good bye, Buizel," she smiled.

Nurse Joy stood at the center of the machine, typing on a keyboard thing. "Trade will begin now."

Electricity came out of the tube and surrounded Skitty's Pokeball, it did the same to Buizel's. The two balls were sucked up into the tubes and I saw two pictures on the screen in the middle, one looked like Skitty and it was going towards the right, the other looked like Buizel and it was going towards the left.

A Pokeball dropped out of the tube and landed in the crater, same for Sara.

"The trade is now complete," Nurse Joy smiled.

I picked up the Pokeball. _Buizel is mine now_, I thought. _Skitty is Sara's. But it's for the best. Skitty will be much happier with Sara_.

Sara looked at me with a smile. "Take good care of Buizel."

"I will," I replied. "I promise."

"And I promise to take care of Skitty," Sara nodded and picked up the Pokeball that Skitty was in.

"Congratulations," Brock smiled to me. "You've just taken another step to becoming a great trainer."

"Thanks," I smiled back, but I couldn't help feeling sad that the rest of Skitty's training will be in Sara's hands. But I smiled a little more when I finally remembered that Buizel was a Water Type and would be able to help me defeat Roxanne.

"Now you'll beat Roxanne for sure," Ash smiled.

I nodded. "I can't wait!"

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Are you ready for this?"

"I'm a little nervous," I admitted. "This will be my first gym battle after all."

"Just relax," Ash said. "And don't forget to have fun, that's always the main thing about battling."

"He's right," Sara smiled. "You'll do great!"

Brock and Paul nodded their agreement and I took a deep breath before walking into the gym. The walls were amazing, the place looked like a palace.

"Hello," came a voice and I looked up to see a girl with brown hair, she was smiling. "Are you here to challenge me?"  
I hesitated but Ash nudged me. "Go on," he whispered. "Speak up."

"Well?" she said.

I gulped. "Yeah, I'm here to earn the Stone Badge."

"Oh yes, hello Ash, is this the friend you were talking about?"

Ash nodded. "Yep, this is Skye from Littleroot Town."

"And Paul, it's good to see you again," the girl smiled at Paul.

"Yeah, whatever," Paul looked away.

"You've battled her?" I asked. He nodded.

"I am Roxanne," the girl announced. "I am the Leader of this Gym and Rock Types are my specialty. If you want to earn a Stone Badge, you have to defeat me."

I nodded. "And I will."

"We will have a three on three battle," she said. "Please step forward."

I noticed the battlefield and I stepped into the box, my friends went to sit down and watch.

The referee stood at the sidelines. "This will be a three on three battle and will only be over when one side has no Pokemon left to battle. Only the challenger is allowed to substitute."

"Right," Roxanne and I both said.

"You may choose your first Pokemon," Roxanne offered.

I thought carefully now, she had Rock Types, and if I sent out Sparky, she could send out her strongest one, and I didn't think Poochyena would handle it, so Buizel had to be my first choice. But if I sent Buizel out, and it was defeated, then Sparky and Poochyena might not have a chance. If I lost to Roxanne today, I would have to wait a full day because tomorrow was the Contest that Sara was entering.

I decided that I would leave Buizel until later, besides, I was allowed to substitute at any time. I grabbed a Pokeball and threw it. "Poochyena, you're up!"

Poochyena came out and stood tall. I had talked it over with them before we came to the Gym, that they needed to look strong like they already were, Poochyena was doing just that.

"A Poochyena?" Roxanne smiled. "Alright, then I'll choose"- she threw a Pokeball -"Geodude!"

A small rock-looking Pokemon with arms appeared. "Geodude!" it said.

"So that's a Geodude," I grabbed my Pokedex.

"Geodude," it said. "It looks like a boulder and hikers sometimes trip over them."

"Not much information," I muttered. "But oh well."

"Battle, begin!" the referee announced.

"You can have the first move," Roxanne smiled.

"Thanks," I replied. "Poochyena, use Shadow Ball!"  
"Shadow Ball!?" Roxanne exclaimed as Poochyena opened its mouth and a black sphere appeared. _That's the same move another trainer started with using **his** Poochyena_! She thought. _Ash told me she was only a beginning trainer, but she's gained a lot of experience. To have her Poochyena be able to use Shadow Ball proves how strong her and her team are. She will be hard to beat_!

"Let is loose, Poochyena!" I called and Poochyena closed its mouth, making the black sphere shoot out towards Geodude.

"Geodude, dodge it!" Roxanne called.

Geodude dodged it perfectly.

"Poochyena, use Agility!" I ordered.

Poochyena raced towards Geodude with a shining light behind it. It ran super quick, and then it started running circles around Geodude.

Geodude spun in circles, trying to keep up with Poochyena's speed and it was starting to get dizzy.

"Now, use Tackle!" I called.

Poochyena jumped at Geodude and slammed into it, knocking it sideways.

"Ha!" Roxanne smiled. "Normal Attacks won't do anything to Geodude. Now, use Rock Throw!"

I watched as Geodude got up again and picked up rocks, throwing them at Poochyena. It moved really fast, throwing rocks, picking them up, throwing them, picking up more, it was too fast for me to keep up.

I shook my head roughly. "Poochyena, use Quick Attack to dodge them!"

Poochyena jumped around the battlefield, dodging each rock that was thrown. They slammed into the ground and made dents everywhere.

"Geodude, use Rock Tomb!" Roxanne ordered.

Geodude focused for a moment and all of a sudden, Poochyena was surrounded by massive boulders, trapped.

"Poochyena!" I called.

"She's in trouble!" Ash murmured.

"Geodude, Rock Throw!"

Geodude began throwing rocks again, into the circle of boulders.

"Poochyena, watch out!" I yelled.

Poochyena tried its best to avoid the raining rocks, but most of them hit it. "POOCH!" it cried.

"Poochyena!" I called, I was getting scared. I didn't know what to do!

"Skye, call Poochyena back!" Sara yelled

"PIKA!" Pikachu called.

_No, I have to give Poochyena a proper chance_! I thought. _But I have to think quickly_!

"POOCH!" Poochyena cried out again as more and more rocks struck it.

"That's it!" I said aloud. "Poochyena! Use Shadow Ball on the boulders!"

Poochyena did as it was told and before I knew it, my Pokemon broke free of the prison. Poochyena was mad, and so was I!

"Alright Poochyena, let's finish this!" I growled. "Use Quick Attack!"

Poochyena raced towards Geodude.

"Geodude, dodge it!" Roxanne ordered.

Geodude narrowly dodged the Quick Attack and moved closer to the circle of boulders.

_I know what she's up to_, Paul thought. _That's very clever_.

"What is she thinking!?" Sara growled. "She should be using Buizel to take them all down at once!"

"Buizel would get tired," Brock replied.

"But Poochyena is badly hurt!" Sara argued. "She could at least send Sparky in-"

"She has a plan," Paul said quietly.

"What? What plan!?" Sara asked.

"Just watch and you might find out," Paul replied.

"Poochyena, Quick Attack, again!"

They turned their attention back to my battle and saw Poochyena run at Geodude again.

"Dodge it, Geodude!" Roxanne called.

Geodude dodge the attack again.

"Quick Attack, again!" I called.

"How many times is it going to take for you to figure out that you won't hit Geodude?!" Roxanne asked. "Geodude, dodge it!"

Geodude dodged it once again.

_Once more_, I thought. _That should do it_! "Poochyena, Quick Attack, one more time!"

"Dodge it, Geodude," Roxanne sighed.

Geodude dodged it and was at the entrance of the circle of boulders.

"Tackle!" I yelled and Poochyena was quick enough to hit Geodude and send it flying into the circle. "Yes!"

"What are you up to?!" Roxanne asked me.

"You'll see," I smiled.

"That's her plan," Paul murmured.

"What is she doing!?" Sara was frustrated.

"Poochyena, now, use Shadow Ball, full power!" I called.

Roxanne and everybody else, besides Paul, was shocked.

Poochyena opened its mouth and a black sphere appeared. As it gained more and more power, it got bigger and bigger, getting as big as it did when Poochyena defeated Team Rocket.

"No way!" Roxanne exclaimed. _This is the same strategy that Jake used_!

"It's huge!" Sara exclaimed.

"Do you get what her idea was, now?" Paul asked and Sara nodded.

"I still don't get it," Ash muttered.

"Thick-head!" Sara grumbled. "Don't you see!? Geodude is trapped in the ring of boulders, the perfect time for Poochyena to attack because Geodude can't dodge in there, not with a Shadow Ball that big!"

Ash finally understood.

"Let it loose, Poochyena!" I called.

Poochyena snapped its jaw shut and the Shadow Ball flew at Geodude, tearing up the ground in its path,

"Geodude!" Roxanne called.

There was a massive explosion and I couldn't see anything until the smoke cleared. The first thing I saw was Poochyena standing tall and proud, then I saw Geodude, nearly knocked out.

"Alright, Poochyena, finish it with Quick Attack!"

Poochyena ran at Geodude with full speed and slammed into it, sending it crashing against one of the boulders and making it shatter. Geodude was out.

"Return, Geodude," Roxanne said and looked at the Pokeball once it was inside. "That was very good." She looked up at me. "That was amazing. But I can't say it was a unique strategy. There was someone else who used the exact same strategy as you."

"Who!?" I asked, shocked, I was sure I made it up just by thinking it through.

"A trainer I battled last year. He also had a Poochyena," Roxanne said.

My mind sparked and I smiled. "Was his name Jake?"

Roxanne nodded.

I shrugged. "Like brother like sister I guess."

"You're his sister!?" I nodded. "That would explain the amazing display of moves. Your brother was a strong young trainer to begin with as well. But the battle isn't over yet." She pulled out another Pokeball. She threw it. "Donphan, I choose you!"

I saw a black-ish gray Pokemon with long ears, a long nose and tusks.

I pulled out my Pokedex again. "Donphan," it said. "The Armor Pokemon and the evolved form of Phanpy. Donphan isn't as affectionate as Phanpy, and its Tackle Attack has enough strength to knock down a house. Its favorite attack is Rollout. It curls its body into a ball, then charges while rolling at high speeds."

"We'd better watch out for that Rollout," I murmured to Poochyena. "So be careful."

"Battle continue," the referee announced.

"I'll take the first move, now," Roxanne smiled. "Donphan, use Earthquake!"

Donphan slammed its foot on the ground and the floor began to shake violently. Poochyena was getting nervous.

The ground split in places and rose up, just like an actual earthquake.

I fell backwards and the shaking stopped.

"Skye! Are you alright!?" Ash called.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" I called back and stood up again. "Poochyena-"

"Donphan, use Rollout!"

"Not Rollout!" I echoed. "Poochyena, use Quick Attack to dodge it!"

Poochyena was prepared to dodge the attack. Donphan jumped up and curled into a ball. It landed on the ground again and started rolling towards Poochyena, picking up speed. Soon, it was going super fast.

"Poochyena, dodge it now!" I yelled and Poochyena just managed to dodge the attack.

"Keep at it, Donphan!" Roxanne smiled.

"Poochyena, behind you!" I yelled but it was too late. Poochyena was hit by the Rollout and was thrown back, hitting the ground hard and not able to get up. I took out Poochyena's Pokeball. "Poochyena, return." When it went inside the Pokeball, I looked at it. "I'm really proud of you. You did your best."

"So, what will your second Pokemon be?" Roxanne asked.

"I know the perfect one," I smiled and put Poochyena's Pokeball away, grabbing another one. I threw it into the air. "Buizel, let's go!"

Buizel came out of its Pokeball and stood tall with its arms crossed. "Bui!"

"A nice choice," Roxanne said. "Now, Donphan, Rollout, again!"

Donphan started rolling towards Buizel, really fast.

"Buizel, use Water Gun on the ground!" I ordered.

"Bui!" Buizel nodded and un-crossed its arms. It shot a huge amount of water out of its mouth and it shot at the ground in front of Donphan. The rolling Pokemon rolled into the mud and was rolling in one spot, stuck as it sank a little deeper.

"Now, use Sonicboom!" I said.

Buizel jumped into the air and did a spin. A white, circular blade looking thing shot out from Buizel's tail and flew at Donphan.

"Donphan, look out!" Roxanne said and Donphan stopped rolling and tried to dodge, but the Sonicboom hit. "Donphan!" Roxanne cried out.

"Alright, Buizel, I smiled. "Let's finish this with Aqua Jet!"

"Bui, Buizel!" Buizel smiled and jumped into the air, being surrounded by water. It flew down at Donphan.

"Donphan, dodge it!" Roxanne called, but Donphan was stuck in the mud. Buizel hit it and it was thrown away, it couldn't fight anymore.

"That was great, Buizel!" I smiled.

"Bui!" Buizel smiled and crossed its arms again.

"Nice work," Roxanne said and returned her Pokemon. "I just caught Donphan to be honest."

"That would explain it," I smiled.

"You won't be so lucky this time," Roxanne smiled back. "Nosepass! Your turn!"

I saw a blue Pokemon with a big red nose, it looked creepy. I pulled out my Pokedex.

"Nosepass," it said. "The Compass Pokemon. Nosepass is the only Pokemon with a magnetic nose. Just like a compass, its nose always points north."

"Yep, creepy," I murmured.

"Alright, Nosepass, use Zap Cannon!" Roxanne ordered.

"_Zap Cannon_!?" I exclaimed, realizing that it was an electric attack. Buizel was a Water Type, it couldn't take Electric Type attacks! "Buizel, dodge it!"

Buizel tried, but electricity burst from Nosepass's nose and struck it. "BUI!" Buizel cried out.

"Use Thunder Wave," Roxanne said.

More electricity came from Nosepass's nose and Buizel was hit again, but unable to move.

"Buizel, come on, you have to move!" I said.

"Bui!" Buizel tried to get up, but had to kneel back down.

"Zap Cannon, again," Roxanne sounded bored, convinced that it was over.

Electricity flew towards Buizel.

"Buizel!" I cried out. "Dodge it, quick!"

Buizel was breathing hard, the first Zap Cannon took a huge effect on it.

"BUIZEL!" I screamed but it was too late. Buizel was electrocuted by the strong attack.

Buizel was knocked out and I saw sparks coming off of its body. I quickly returned it. "I'm sorry, Buizel. You did your best. Thank you."

Roxanne was laughing.

"What's so funny?!" I growled.

"You weren't expecting that now, were you?" Roxanne laughed.

"No, but this battle isn't over until it's over," I said. "Sparky, let's finish this gym battle and get that Stone Badge!"

"Pika!" Sparky jumped from my shoulder and ran onto the battlefield.

"A Pikachu?" Roxanne stopped laughed. "Alright. I'll just have to beat that Pokemon, too."

Sparky growled.

"Continue battle," the referee said.

"Alright Sparky, let's show her how strong we are!" I called. "Use Iron Tail!"

Sparky ran at Nosepass and jumped into the air. Its tail glowed white and it slammed its tail down on Nosepass's head.

Nosepass fell back and got back up.

"Such speed!" Roxanne exclaimed. "That's incredible! Nosepass, use Zap Cannon!"

Electricity shot out of Nosepass's nose and flew at Sparky. I smiled and remembered something that Paul had taught me yesterday. "Sparky, stand your ground!"

Sparky stood up and prepared for the hit.

"What is she doing!?" Brock exclaimed. "Sparky will get hurt!"

"Don't think Sparky is that weak just yet," Paul warned. "Sparky is stronger than you think."

"How do you know?" Sara grumbled.

"Because I taught Skye how to use this move," Paul replied.

Sara and the others turned their attention back to the battle.

I watched as Sparky was hit with the Zap Cannon. It was forced back a little bit, but Sparky was standing strong.

"That Pikachu is powerful," Roxanne murmured. "Probably more powerful than Ash's Pikachu!"

The Zap Cannon attack stopped and Sparky stood up straight again, looking as if it wasn't hurt at all.

"Alright!" I smiled. "Sparky, let's do it. Use Thunder!"

"She knows Thunder now!?" Ash exclaimed. "You taught her and Sparky to use Thunder!?"

Paul nodded simply.

"How?" Sara asked, a growl in her tone.

"I _do_ have my own Electric Type Pokemon if you've already forgotten," Paul replied in a not-so-friendly tone of his own. "It wasn't so hard for her to learn. Her and Sparky were eager not to give up."

I watched as Sparky focused its energy and sparks flew from it. "Piiiiiiiiiiiiiikaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..........................."

I waited, tense. Roxanne was a little shocked.

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sparky let loose an extremely powerful Thunder attack. It shot straight at Nosepass and it hit perfectly.

"Nosepass!" it cried out as it was thrown back.

"Sparky, use Iron Tail!" I called.

Sparky ran at Nosepass and jumped into the air. Its Tail shone white and it slammed down on Nosepass.

There was a sort of explosion and smoke rose up everywhere. But Nosepass was still standing.

"Nosepass, use Zap Cannon!" Roxanne yelled. "Fill the whole battlefield!"

"Ground it, Sparky!" I called.

A Zap Cannon was everywhere, Roxanne was sure that Sparky wouldn't manage to make it through that.

_Okay, from here on out, I'm using everything Paul taught me yesterday_, I thought.

The electricity disappeared and Roxanne was stunned to see Sparky still standing, using its tail as a stand, its body in the air.

"What!? No way!" Roxanne exclaimed. "That's not possible!"

"Yes it is," I smirked. "Sorry, Roxanne, but this is my field now. Sparky, use Quick Attack and Agility at the same time! Use everything we learned yesterday with Elekid!"

Sparky nodded and stood on the ground again. In seconds, Sparky was running all over the place, slamming into Nosepass every now and then, running rings around it, dodging in and out of the rocks and boulders. Sparky used an Iron Tail every now and then and used Slam a couple of times, but this was all just to store up Sparky's electricity, to make it more powerful for a finishing attack.

"Nosepass, do something!" Roxanne called. "Use Rock Slide!"

Nosepass made all the rocks rise up and they all crashed down towards the battlefield, but it missed Sparky completely.

"What the!?" Roxanne growled. "Where's that Pikachu!?"

"Look up!" I smiled and she did, Sparky was in the air and coming down with a glint in its eyes. "Sparky, use Thunderbolt!"

"Wow, she's so strong," Sara murmured.

"You taught her Thunderbolt as well?" Ash asked Paul, he nodded.

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sparky let out a strong electric attack and Nosepass was hit, Thunderbolt caused severe damage.

Sparky landed on one of the boulders with a smile. "Pika!" it growled.

"Alright, let's finish this, Sparky," I smiled. "Now, use _**Thunder**_!"

Sparky nodded. "Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Sparky began storing a heap of energy, preparing to release it. Sparks flew off its body.

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Electricity flew from Sparky's tiny body, it was huge, and it was powerful. It flew at Nosepass, tearing up the ground as it went, and it hit perfectly.

Nosepass was being electrocuted for a few seconds, but then it fell back and smoke came off of it. It couldn't get back up.

"Nosepass is unable to battle," the referee announced. "The Gym Leader, Roxanne has no more Pokemon to continue battling. The challenger, Skye, wins!"

"WOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara stood up. "Way to go, Skye!"

Sparky came running over to me with a huge smile and it jumped into my arms. I hugged Sparky tightly and we both laughed. "That was amazing, Sparky! That was even better than what we did yesterday!"

"Pika, Pi!" Sparky cheered.

"Pika!" Pikachu called and all my friends came running over.

"That was a great battle, you two!" Brock smiled.

"Yeah, the two of you are really a team!" Ash was also smiling.

"Even Buizel and Poochyena were really strong!" Sara's eyes were shining.

I looked at Paul. "Thank you. Without your help, we might not have won this match."

"It was nothing," Paul said modestly. "It was worth it. That was a good battle."

I smiled widely and looked back at Sparky, who was excited.

"Here," I heard Roxanne and noticed her presence with us. She held out a small thing in her hand. "You've earned this, Skye."

I looked at it. "Wow...." I murmured quietly. "The Stone Badge....." I took it from her. "Thank you."

"Pika?" Sparky put its paws up on my hand to try and see it, so I lowered my hand. Sparky looked at it with me and we both exchanged a glance with wide smiles.

"Hey, Brock," Roxanne looked at Brock. "I heard that you want to be a Pokemon Breeder."

Brock nodded. "That's right."

"Well, I work as a teacher at a Pokemon Breeder's school," Roxanne smiled. "Maybe you could stay and learn from us at the school."

Brock smiled. "That would be great."

"But that would mean you wouldn't be traveling with us anymore, Brock," Ash pointed out.

Brock sighed. "I know. But you'll manage without me."

"But, what about you're awesome cooking?! Who's gonna cook for us!? I don't know how to cook, and I don't trust Ash to cook, I don't know about Skye."

"You'll manage," Brock repeated.

Sara grumbled.

"Come on," Brock smiled. "I'll be there to watch your Contest tomorrow."

"And we're leaving the day after," I murmured.

"You'll just have to deal with my absence," Brock told us.

Sara and Ash were really put down, even Pikachu.

"But, but, but........." Sara looked at the ground, and then looked back up with a really complaining expression. "WHO'S GOING TO PUT UP WITH MY SHOPPING ADDICTIONS NOW!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

"That's one thing I won't miss," Brock murmured quietly and Sara crossed her arms.

"We should be going anyway," Ash said. "Come on, guys."

The whole way back, Sara was looking at a blue crystal that was on a necklace that I had never noticed her wearing.

"Sara?" I whispered, walking beside her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Sara whispered back. "Just thinking."

"Okay..." I murmured and walked a little slower, giving her a little bit of space, I ended up walking beside Paul, who was getting used to be around Sara again, although they still disliked each other a lot.

"I'm actually surprised that you used everything I taught you yesterday," Paul murmured to me.

I shrugged. "You taught me to use it against an Electric Type Pokemon, and Nosepass had electric attacks. It was worth using. And thanks for teaching it all to me."

"No worries," he smiled a little. "Even though you and Sparky got frustrated, it was still pretty fun."

I tried to make my shock not show. _It was pretty fun? This is coming from a guy that had an attitude problem, and still sorta does!? I wonder if he's beginning to lighten up_.... I smiled at him. "Me and Sparky thought it was a blast!"

"Well it was," Paul murmured. "Literally."

I cringed. "Yeah, that tree had already been knocked down, and that rocky overhang, and the other couple trees..........."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Paul laughed a little. "You and Sparky are a danger to everyone and every_**thing**_!"

I smiled and looked at the ground.


	6. Skye's Mysterious Prophecy

"Hey, Sara, what's that you're holding?"

Sara looked up. "What? Oh, this," she looked back to her necklace. "My mother gave it to me before I left Sinnoh. I've worn it ever since."

"What is it?" I asked, peering over Paul's shoulder to look at it.

"It's a crystal from Snow Point City from the Sinnoh Region," Sara replied. "It is used to make Eevee evolve into Glaceon."

"Glaceon?" I echoed.

"In Sinnoh, there is two more evolved forms of Eevee," Paul explained. "Glaceon, the Ice Type, and Leafeon, the Grass Type."

"Oh....." I murmured. "Cool."

"Are you thinking of evolving your Eevee, Sara?" Brock asked.

Sara nodded. "I was thinking that if I evolved Eevee into Glaceon, not only would it sparkle more in the Contests, but it would be stronger and have more beautiful attacks."

"Well, it's entirely up to you," Ash smiled.

Sara nodded. "I know," she pulled out Eevee's Pokeball. "So that's what I'm going to do." The Pokeball opened and Eevee appeared.

"Eevee!" it smiled.

"Eevee," Sara looked at it. "How would you like to evolve into a Glaceon?"

"Eevee!" Eevee nodded with a huge smile.

"Okay," Sara took her necklace off.

"Wow, I've never seen a Pokemon evolve before," I murmured.

"Well, you'll see one now," Paul replied, his voice just as quiet.

I finally stood beside Paul and watched as Sara crouched down in front of Eevee and held out the clue crystal. Eevee put its paw on it and Eevee suddenly turned white.

My eyes shone as Eevee began changing shape and I was a little frightened, I moved a little closer to Paul for some strange reason, he didn't seem to mind.

Eevee grew a little bit, and the white light died away. But Eevee was no more, now it was a blue Pokemon with a darker blue diamond on its back and at the end of its tail. Its head was darker blue, its ears were a light blue like the rest of its fur but there was two strands, one on each side, hanging down like a second pair of ears, they were darker blue with the diamonds at the bottom. It looked amazing.

"Wow......." I mumbled. "Eevee looks so different now."

"It's not Eevee anymore," Ash said, but he visibly tensed up when he saw me right next to Paul.

"That's right," Brock smiled. "Its new name is Glaceon."

Sara was smiling as much as Glaceon. "One problem," she sighed.

Glaceon tilted its head to one side. "Glace?"

"We have to train right now so I know all your new attacks for tomorrow's Contest."

"I guess you should have evolved it earlier," Paul pointed out.

Sara glared at him and looked how close he was to me. "Keep your opinions to yourself."

"It's only the truth," Paul murmured. "Any smart person would have evolved their Pokemon earlier on, not the night before a Contest."

"Are you saying I'm not smart!?" Sara growled.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Paul walked out to the balcony.

I sighed. Why couldn't they just get along?

"Well, Glaceon and I are going to go train out in the forest," Sara said.

"In the dark?" Brock sounded unsure. "There are a lot of Pokemon out at night."

"We'll be fine," Sara smiled. "Come on, Glaceon."

They both ran off out of the room.

Brock sighed. "I'd better make sure she doesn't get into any kind of trouble." He ran after Sara and Glaceon.

I looked at Ash, but he had already looked away from me. "I'm going for a walk," Ash mumbled and walked towards the door.

"Are you mad at me for something?" I asked and he stopped.

There was a moment of silence. "No," he replied and walked out, Pikachu ran after him.

"Pika!" Pikachu said to Sparky before they were gone.

I was by myself in the room, except for Sparky, who was falling asleep on my bed. I decided to go out onto the balcony with Paul.

I sat down beside him. "Paul, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Why are you rude to some people?" I was nervous that he would end up growling at me.

"No reason," he replied simply. "Just that some people are idiots."

"So, you don't think I'm an idiot?"

"No."

"You did when I first ran into you," I pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. But then I got to know you. You're not an idiot."

"Cool!"

"Ash seems upset by something," Paul changed the subject.

I sighed. "I don't know why, but I think it has something to do with me."

Paul laughed. "It's because you're around me."

"What do you mean?" I was confused.

"Try thinking a little bit for yourself," Paul murmured and didn't say anything else.

I thought for a few moments before standing up. "I'm going to go find him. See ya!"

I ran back into the room and out of it, leaving Sparky to sleep. I left the Pokemon Center and ran around Rustboro City, looking for Ash. I ran all around, but I wasn't able to find him.

_Maybe be went and joined Sara and Brock with Glaceon's training_, I thought as I walked down an alley. _But he did seem a little upset. He can't think I like Paul, can he_?

I looked up and saw someone leaning against the wall. "Hello, young miss," it was a guy. "Are you lost?"

I shook my head and backed away. "No."

"Then why are you out here so late?" he left the wall and started walking towards me.

"Stay away from me!" I growled and reached for one of my Pokeballs, but realized that I had put both Poochyena's Pokeball and Buizel's Pokeball in my backpack, and that wasn't with me!

_Damn_! I thought with a growl. _This was a mistake_!

I backed towards the city streets again and when I was out, I turned and ran off.

"Hey, come back here!" the guy called and ran after me.

_I don't think so, pal_! I thought and tried to remember my way back to the Pokemon Center, but the bad thing was, I was so busy trying to find Ash that I didn't realize where I was going, and it was too dark to see properly.

I ran through the streets, thinking that if I ran for long enough, the guy would get tired and stop chasing me.

I had to stop to catch my breath, so I ran down another alley, hiding behind a dumpster and sitting down, holding my stomach and trying to keep my breathing quiet.

"Oh girly," I heard a mocking laugh. "We know you're in here. You can't hide from us."

I suddenly recognized the voice, it was Nick, from Team Aqua!

"Yeah, you won't get away from us," it was the first guy, but the footsteps told me there was a few more than two people.

I stood up and peered over the dumpster, the guy that chased me was dressed in black, but the other four, not including Nick, was dressed in the Team Aqua uniform.

"You might as well come out from behind the dumpster," another voice laughed. "Or we'll have to come get you."

"Too bad, you don't have your Pokemon on you to defend yourself," Nick said and the footsteps got closer and closer.

In a flash, the six Team Aqua guys blocked me in the corner. "You're coming with us," one guy said.

"Back off!" I growled, trying not to let my voice shake, I was just a little bit scared.

"Poor, Skye," Nick smiled. "You don't have your Pokemon, or your friends to help you out for this one. But I'm afraid that you have to come with us. Archie wants to speak to you."

"Who the heck is that loser?" I asked with a growl.

One Team Aqua guy punched me in the face. "Don't you dare say that about Archie, kid!"

"I'll say what I want," I spat on the ground, but it was all an act, I think. "Whoever this Archie person is, I'm not talking to him. Now back off losers!"

They were all getting frustrated and Nick grabbed me, pulling me towards him. "Come on, you're coming with us whether you like it or not."

"NO!" I yelled. "LET! ME! GO!"

"Shut up!" the non-uniformed guy hit me over the head. "Archie wants to know where those documents are, you know, the ones you took from Nick and Shaun?"

"Yeah I know," I growled, trying to pull free of Nick's grip on my right arm. "But I'm not telling you where they are!"

The guy punched me in the face again. "It's obvious she won't tell us anything. Why not just beat her to a pulp?"

"We could," Nick was tempted. "But then Archie said-"

"Archie said bring her back in one piece," one of them smirked. "Doesn't mean we can't throw her around a little."

"Alright," Nick smiled and threw me back against the wall. He cracked his knuckles. "Let's do this."

I was scared, I admit, I was terrified! "Leave me the heck alone!" my voice shook.

"Aw, the poor kid is scared," the non-uniformed guy smirked. "Good!"

The guys took a step towards me and my heart was racing.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

I screamed as lightning electrocuted the guys in front of me and I crouched down, putting my hands over my ears and my knees were against my chest, I tried to hide my face in my knees. My body was shaking and the guys ran off.

I stayed there, scared, shaking, terrified.

Someone crouched down beside me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Skye?"

I yelped and cringed away.

"Skye, it's okay. Those Team Aqua guys are gone." I knew that voice.

I lifted my head and took my hands away from my ears, Ash was crouched beside me, Pikachu watching to see if the Team Aqua guys would return.

I jumped to my feet and Ash stood up. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Tears ran down my face and I leaned against him, my hands up on his chest and my face buried in his jacket. I just started crying and he wrapped his arms around me without another word. "Skye...."

"I'm so glad you're here," I whispered. "I'm sorry, Ash. I'm sorry!"

"Sorry for what?" Ash asked.

"You're mad at me because you think I like Paul!" I couldn't stop my tears from falling, so I gave up trying. "But I don't! I'm sorry!"

"Skye, it's okay," Ash murmured soothingly. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have gotten mad."

I was right, he was mad because I had been with Paul.

"What are you even doing out here?" Ash asked. "Why didn't you take your Pokemon with you?"

"I was in a rush and I forgot them," I mumbled through his jacket.

"But why did you come out here at this time of night?"

"I had to find you, to apologize. But then I got lost..."

Ash sighed. "Well it's okay now. Come on, we'd better go back."

I didn't want him to let me go, but he did and I stepped away from him. He looked at my face, wet with so many tears. A new one was beginning to fall and he put his right hand on my right cheek, brushing the tear away with his thumb. "It's okay now."

"I know," he took his hand back and I wiped away all the other tears with my hands.

Ash turned to leave the alley and I walked beside him. Pikachu jumped up on Ash's shoulder.

We slowly made our way back to the Pokemon Center, I was glad Ash knew which way to go. I looked up at the stars as we walked and I smiled. I was happy that Ash was with me, I was so scared in that alley, I thought I was finished.

Ash looked at me and took his hat off. I looked back at him and he put his hat on my head, the brim facing forward. My hair was pushed down from the hat and I smiled a little more.

Ash smiled back and put his left arm over my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. I happily walked beside him, Pikachu had a smile on its face.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Hello and good morning ladies and gentlemen! I am your host today and welcome to the Rustboro City Contest!"

Everybody cheered and I looked out at the stage from my seat in between Ash and Paul, Sparky was on my shoulder, Poochyena was on my lap and Buizel stood up in front of me. We were in the front row, so Buizel looked over the border wall.

"Today we have our three special judges!" the host smiled, she had golden curly hair. "First up we have Mr. Contesta!"

"I am looking forward to a great performance," he smiled, sitting at a table with three microphones.

"Our next judge is Mr. Remenessa," the host smiled.

"Today's outcome is truly remarkable," he said.

"Thirdly, we have Nurse Joy!"

"It will be interesting to see the performance of the trainers and their Pokemon," Nurse Joy said.

"Each contestant will be aiming to get the Rustboro City Contest Ribbon!" she held out a red ribbon with gold at the top. "Now that we're ready," the host announced. "Here is our first contestant! Sara from Twinleaf Town!"

"WOO! GO SARA!" I called as Sara ran onto the stage with a huge smile. She was wearing a black dress with added sleeves with a bit of white at the end. The dress went down to mid-thigh and had a white stripe at the bottom. Around her waist was a ribbon and a large bow at the back, the ribbon hung down to her ankles. She had light black stockings that ended just below the end of the dress. She also had black boots that went half way up her lower leg and laces that were tied up well, with bows at the top. Her black and blue hair was still let down like she always had it, but with tiny pigtails at the sides and blue ribbons at the base of the pigtails. She looked amazingly beautiful.

"Wow," Ash muttered. "Never seen her wear something like that before."

"................. I thought she was a tomboy........" I was really stunned. "I didn't know she wore dresses....."

"Buneary! Center stage!" Sara smiled and threw Buneary's Pokeball in the air. It had a purple case around it with a heart sticker at the front. The Pokeball opened and there were hearts all around Buneary with a flash of white.

"Buneary!" it smiled and landed gracefully on the ground, doing a little spin and a bow.

"Alright, Buneary!" Sara smiled and pointed to the sky. "Use Ice Beam!"

Buneary fired an ice beam into the sky, it split into three different beams and they spun around each other.

"Now, Bounce and use Dizzy Punch!" Sara commanded.

Buneary jumped high into the sky, doing a few beautiful twirls. Its ears shone white and it smashed the ice that finally took form. The ice turned into many different shards, tiny and sparkling. It showed on the giant screen above the stage for the people in the back rows to see it properly.

The shards fell to the ground and fell onto the people in the first few rows like snow.

"Just watch that sparkle!" the host smiled. "That was amazing!"

Buneary landed on the ground gracefully and both Buneary and Sara did a spin and a bow before standing up straight.

"Let's hear what our judges have to say about that amazing performance," the host turned to the judges and I really wanted to hear what they would say.

Mr. Contesta was first. "That was an amazing display of moves. A wonderful start to a Contest."

Next up was Mr. Remenessa. "That was truly, remarkable!"

The cameras turned to Nurse Joy. "That was beautiful!" she smiled. "Sara and her Buneary are truly a wonderful team."

The whole place was filled with cheering and clapping, everyone loved it!

"Well there you have it, ladies and gentlemen," the host said. "Now, let's move on to the second contestant! Jessebella!"

Sara and Buneary left the stage and a new person ran on. She had an orange dress with white pants underneath. She had long red hair in two large pigtails and large orange glasses. "Dustox, I choose you!"

A purple Pokemon with yellow eyes and antennas with large green wings appeared.

"Now, Dustox, use Whirlwind!" Jessebella ordered.

The Dustox flew higher into the air and faced its trainer. It started flapping its wings very fast and the sudden wind picked Jessebella off the ground and into the air. She laughed. "Hi everyone! See? No wings!"

Dustox stopped flapping and Jessebella landed on her feet, Dustox landed on her shoulder. Jessebella was smiling widely. "You like me! You really like me!" she laughed.

"Doesn't she realize that she's supposed to show off her _Pokemon_ and not herself?" Brock muttered to Ash.

"Yeah, she's a weird one," Ash replied. "That wasn't the best performance I've ever seen."

"Let's hear what our judges have to say," the host was less enthusiastic, even the crowd didn't make a sound.

"That wasn't the best that we've seen in a long time," Mr. Contesta mumbled.

"Not a very remarkable performance," Mr. Remenessa sighed.

Nurse Joy took a deep breath. "Lifting her up in the air like that puts a strain on the Pokemon using the move. That was very risky for Dustox."

"Alright, let's see who's next!" the host smiled.

I watched as contestant after contestant called on their Pokemon to perform a move, everything was awe inspiring. There was a lot of Pokemon that I had never seen before.

"Now we can move onto the second rounds," the host was enthusiastic. "Let's see who made it."

Everyone looked up at the large screen, I was hoping Sara would make it.

The faces of a lot of contestants showed up on the screen, one of them including Sara. But not Jessebella, I wasn't surprised.

"Awesome! Sara's going to the next round!" Ash smiled.

"So, what happens now?" I asked Ash.

"Sara has to battle against another contestant, whilst showing off her Pokemon's moves," Ash replied. "You'll see and understand it better."

I nodded and turned my attention back to the stage.

"First up, we have Sara against Kyle!"

It was only then that I noticed the white lines on the stage that showed the signs of a battlefield.

Sara came out and stood on one side of the battlefield, a guy stood on the other side, looking confident.

"Alright, Houndour, let's go!" Kyle threw a Pokeball and a black dog-looking Pokemon appeared, it had silver around its feet and two silver stripes on its back. It had a red muzzle and a red stomach, and silver armor on its head. Its short tail wagged with determination.

I looked at Sara, she had a confident smile. "Glaceon, center stage!" she threw a Pokeball and her beautiful Glaceon appeared.

"Wow, it's a Glaceon!" the host smiled. "A Fire Type against an Ice Type. This will be an interesting battle. Okay, five minutes on the clock."

I looked up at the screen, on one side it had Sara's face with a circle at the bottom that was yellow, it was the same for Kyle on the other side with his face. In the middle was a digital clock with five minutes showing.

"It's about to start," Brock smiled.

"She'll do great," Paul muttered to himself.

"Start!" the host yelled and the five minutes started.

"Alright, Glaceon!" Sara called. "Use Blizzard!"

Glaceon opened its mouth and a cold wind was everywhere, even snow. It blew towards Houndour and surrounded it.

"And that beautiful display of Blizzard knocks points off Kyle's score," the host announced and I watched some of the yellow disappear on the circle below Kyle's face on the screen.

"Houndour, use Flamethrower!" Kyle called and a huge flame flew from Houndour's mouth.

"And Kyle's Houndour lets loose a beautiful flamethrower!" the host called and a tiny bit of yellow disappeared on Sara's side.

"Glaceon, Ice Beam!" Sara ordered.

Glaceon shot out a huge Ice Beam and it froze the flamethrower, even though it was already starting to melt.

"Now, use Iron Tail, Glaceon!" Sara commanded.

Glaceon jumped into the air and its tail glowed white. It spun a few times and its tail slammed down on the frozen fire. It shattered and ice shards flew everywhere, not to mention bits of flame separated and flew out like the shards.

"An amazing display from Glaceon using Iron Tail to smash the frozen Flamethrower!" the host was excited and more points were deducted from Kyle's score.

"Wow.." I murmured. "That's amazing!"

"Houndour! Use Headbutt!" Kyle yelled.

"Glaceon, you use Tackle!" Sara yelled.

Both Pokemon ran at each other, Houndour lowered its head but Glaceon ran normally.

"Alright, Glaceon!" Sara smiled. "Let's do it! Use Ice Beam!"

Kyle as shocked as Glaceon opened its mouth and an Ice Beam shot out at Houndour.

Houndour was hit and frozen solid, becoming a block of ice.

"That was truly amazing!" the host called. "Using Tackle to also use Ice Beam!"

More points were taken from Kyle's score, but Houndour couldn't do anything.

There was thirty more seconds on the clock, Sara was determined to make the most out of it.

"Houndour!" Kyle called.

"Glaceon!" Sara yelled. "Use Iron Tail!"

Glaceon jumped into the air and its tail shone white.

Twenty more seconds.

Its tail slammed down on the block of ice that Houndour was trapped in and it shattered, making Houndour fall back.

Ten more seconds.

"Now use Blizzard!" Sara commanded.

A cold breeze and snow came back from Glaceon's mouth and wrapped around Houndour, picking it up into the air and dropping it. More points were taken from Kyle's score and he was out of points.

"Stop the clock!" the host said and it stopped at one second left. "What an amazing performance! The winner is, Sara from Twinleaf Town!"

Sara and Glaceon had huge smiles.

"Let's hear what our judges have to say about this," the host said.

Mr. Contesta cleared his throat. "That was beautiful work from Sara and Glaceon. Never before has a contestant lost so little points and managed to defeat the other contestant!"

"That was truly remarkable!" Mr. Remenessa smiled.

"Wonderful!" Nurse Joy smiled. "Sara and Glaceon have a beautiful display of teamwork!"

"There you have it, ladies and gentlemen" the host smiled. "Sara will be moving onto the next round, and we'll see who will be joining her."

The whole crowd cheered loudly, me, Ash, Brock, Pikachu, Sparky, Poochyena and Buizel were the loudest.

"WAY TO GO, SARA!" Brock called.

"YEAH!" Ash smiled. "THAT WAS AMAZING!"

Sara and Glaceon took a bow and went back to wait for her next turn.

Heaps of battles went by and my eyes were sparkling, learning all about this new type of battling. Sara moved up to the semi-finals, and finally, the finals came.

"Here are our final contestants!" the host smiled. "Sara from Twinleaf Town, and Sophia from Celadon City!"

"Glaceon! Center stage!" Sara called and threw the Pokeball up, it was in the purple case with an ice shard sticker at the front. It opened up and there was a small breeze with snow flying around Glaceon as it appeared on the battlefield.

"Starmie, let's go!" Sophia called and a purple star-looking Pokemon appeared, it had a red jewel in the center with yellow around it.

"Wow, that's a Starmie?" I pulled out my Pokedex.

"Starmie," it said in its female, monotone voice. "The Mysterious Pokemon. Starmie combines Water attacks with Psychic attacks to pack a powerful punch. The core at the center of Starmie's body glows in seven different colors. Scientists wonder if they use those seven colors to talk to other Starmie or if it is sending messages to outer space."

"That Starmie looks powerful," Ash mumbled. "Sara might have a real challenge here."

"But she's sure to win," I looked at Ash. She's made it this far!"

"Yeah, but so has the other girl," Paul pointed out. "And they both made it to the finals because they're the best contestants here today."

"This could be tricky," Brock sighed.

On the screen, there was the two competitors faces, a yellow circle under each one. In the center was the clock.

"Can we have five minutes on the clock?" the host called and five minutes appeared. "GO!"

"Alright Glaceon!" Sara called. "Use Blizzard!"

"Rapid Spin, Starmie!" Sophia commanded her Pokemon.

The snow-filled, cold air blew towards Starmie but it jumped into it, turning to its side and spinning rapidly, going with the wind.

"What a brilliant way to use Blizzard to its advantage!" the host smiled and points came off Sara's score.

"Starmie, use Swift!"

Starmie stopped spinning and faced Glaceon. It spun upside down and back up and like that again about five times, and golden stars flew out of the red core in the center of it.

Sara smiled. "Glaceon, use Iron Tail!"

Glaceon jumped up and the golden stars surrounded it. Its tail shone white and it spun, hitting the stars with its tail and making them turn into tiny little stars.

Glaceon landed gracefully on the ground and the stars fell down around it, making Glaceon sparkle.

"Wow!" the host was excited. "That was amazing!" Points came off Sophia's score and Sara was in the lead.

"Use Water Gun, Starmie!" Sophia yelled.

"Ice Beam!" Sara called.

Glaceon opened its mouth and a blue beam shot out. It reached the water gun and split into three beams, twirling around the water gun and missing it completely. It hit Starmie and it froze.

The Water Gun was still coming at Glaceon.

"Into it!" Sara commanded.

Glaceon jumped into it and it splashed up everywhere, the droplets sparkling as they fell to the floor.

Glaceon shook the water off of it and stood tall.

"That was wonderful!" the host called. "But that's not good for Sophia and Starmie. I'm not sure Starmie will be able to go on!" More points were taken from Sophia's score.

"Come on, Starmie!" Sophia called. "Get out of that ice!"

After a bit of waiting, the ice finally broke and the shards sparkled as they hit the floor.

"Wow! That's a great way to break free of an Ice Beam!" the host was extremely excited. Points were taken from Sara's score.

"Starmie! Use Confuse Ray!"

"Oh no," Ash growled. "If that hits Glaceon and it confuses it, Glaceon will make a fool of itself and Starmie will win!"

I was nervous, wondering how this would turn out.

"Pika, Pi!" Sparky murmured.

"Bui!" Buizel was tense, Poochyena was just sitting on my lap, happy to watch everything that was going on around it.

A black and purple beam shot out of the top spike of Starmie, shooting straight out at Glaceon.

"Ice Beam!" Sara called. "And make it hit!"

Glaceon let out an Ice Beam and it hit Starmie's attack, making it freeze up.

"Now use Iron Tail!" Sara commanded.

Glaceon ran over to the frozen attack with a glowing tail. It spun and hit it, making it shatter and the shards flew at Starmie.

The shards hit and there was a massive explosion, making Starmie get thrown back.

"Now, use Blizzard!" Sara ordered.

I looked up at the screen, there was only fifteen seconds left.

Glaceon let out a gust of wind with snow and it hit Starmie before it could get up, making it freeze.

"That display was absolutely beautiful!" the host smiled. "And with 7 seconds on the clock, this is pretty much over." Points were taken from Sophia's score.

"Starmie!" Sophia called, but there was a loud horn and the battle was over.

"It's all over, ladies and gentlemen," the host announced. "And the winner is..."

I looked up on the screen and it showed up with Sara's face with her Glaceon. "Sara from Twinleaf Town!" the host called. "Sara is the winner of this year's Rustboro City Contest!"

Starmie broke free of the ice and Sophia returned it, leaving the stage.

The host walked over to Sara. "Here is the Rustboro City ribbon. You've earned it." Sara took the ribbon and looked at it with a smile. "What do our judges have to say about Sara's big win?"

Mr. Contesta smiled. "That was a beautiful display of moves. It was wonderful to see such strength and beauty!"

"That was truly remarkable!" Mr. Remenessa said.

"It's amazing to see how well the Trainer and the Pokemon know each other. It was a great battle to watch, how Glaceon knew exactly what Sara wanted it to do."

"And there you have it," the host said. "Give it up for Sara!"

The whole crowd cheered and stood up, Poochyena jumped down with Buizel. I stood up and clapped. "GO, SARA!" I called.

"Bui! Bui!" Buizel smiled.

"Poochyena!" Poochyena howled loudly.

"Pikachu!" Sparky called.

"Way to go, Sara!" Ash stood up beside me.

Sara looked around at the crowd with a huge smile and Glaceon stood beside her, sitting down, looking around.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"That was amazing!" I smiled as we were walking back to the Pokemon Center. "I really learned a lot from all that."

"Thanks," Sara smiled back. "It was so much fun."

I stopped when I realized that Paul had also stopped. I turned to face him and the others stopped as well. "Paul? What's the matter?"

"I'm gonna take off," Paul replied. "It's not like I was gonna travel around the whole region with you guys."

I was a little disappointed, but I understood. "Okay. But we'll see you again, right?"

"Yeah, sure," Paul nodded. "See ya."

"Bye," Brock said.

"Yeah, later!" Ash smiled and waved as Paul began walking off.

Sara rolled her eyes. "I hope we never see him again!"

"Well, we'll be leaving for Dewford Town tomorrow morning," Ash said.

"Too bad I won't be coming with you," Brock murmured.

"Oh yeah..." I mumbled. "I forgot."

"Pika, Pi....." Sparky's head dropped.

"Wait a second......." Ash suddenly thought of something. "If Brock isn't going to be with us......"- he looked at Sara -"who's gonna stop you from going hyper?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

Sara smirked. "You'll just have to put up with me!" she said in a cheeky voice and poked her tongue out. "Too bad for you."

"This is just great!" Ash rolled his eyes. "Me and Skye are stuck with a hyperactive _**child**_ that only Brock knows how to calm down!"

"..........What did you just say!?!?!?!"

Ash turned around and looked at Sara, suddenly jumping in the air with fright, hiding behind me.

"Did you just call me a CHILD!?!?!?!" Sara snarled.

"Um... no?"

"Good!" Sara smiled happily. "Now, let's get back to the Pokemon Center, I'm tired." Sara started skipping in the direction of the Pokemon Center.

Ash took a deep breath and sighed with relief. "That, was close."

"And you put me in the middle of it!" I growled.

"Sorry," Ash smiled guiltily.

I sighed. "Come on. Let's go."

We slowly followed Sara, Brock was shaking his head with disbelief.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Good bye, guys."

"Bye, Brock," Sara sighed. "We'll miss you."

"I'll miss you guys too," Brock smiled. "But I have an opportunity here to become a great Pokemon Breeder."

"And one day, you'll be known all around the world," Ash said. "Bye, pal."

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu agreed.

"Yeah, it was great traveling with you," I smiled. "Good bye, and good luck."

"Pi, Pikachu!" Sparky said and we all turned around, walking away from Rustboro City, leaving Brock behind.

"Bye!" Brock called and waved.

We waved back and we went back through Petalburg Forest. I looked at all the Pokemon in the forest, up in the trees, down on the ground, I was amazed.

"So what's in Dewford Town?" Sara asked. "I know there's a Gym, but is there anything else?"

"Well, we have to find a guy called Steven, and give him a letter," Ash replied. "He should be somewhere in the Granite Cave searching for rare stones or something like that. That's what the president said anyway."

"Fair enough," Sara sighed. "I heard that the Gym Leader's name is Brawly and he specializes in Fighting Type Pokemon."

"Well then it looks like Ash and I have a big challenge ahead of us," I smiled. "But it'll be fun."

"Brawly is really tough, so I've heard," Sara warned. "You'll have a rough time in the gym."

I shrugged.

"Pika, Pi! Pika-chu!" Sparky looked unafraid.

"That's right," I smiled and Sparky rubbed its cheek against mine.

"What did Sparky say?" Ash asked.

"Sparky said that we can do it if we really try," I replied.

"That's amazing how you can already understand your Pokemon," Sara murmured. "It took me months and months just to become a decent trainer."

"But you're a really good trainer now," Ash smiled.

Sara smiled her thanks.

"How are we getting to Dewford Town?" I suddenly asked. "We don't have a boat."

"We have that sorted," Sara said. "There's a dock just at the end of Petalburg Woods, there's an old sailor that lives in a house beside it and I'm sure he'd be able to take us there, and then to Slateport City."

"Well that makes sense," I looked at Ash and smiled.

"Maybe Paul got the same idea," Ash thought.

"Nah, his Ursaring knows how to swim. He can just swim there," Sara muttered. "Who cares about him anyway?"

We traveled for a few hours and finally reached the end of Petalburg Woods. We walked a bit longer and we found the dock, and the house.

"I wonder if he's even home," I murmured as we came to the front door and I knocked.

"Come on in," there was a reply from inside and I opened the door.

We walked in and saw an elderly man sitting on a cushion at a table with a cup in front of him, a Wingull beside him.

"It's you!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, hello you two. It's good to see you again," the man smiled. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last time. My name is Mr. Briney, and I am an old, retired sailor."

"My name is Ash Ketchum," Ash said. "I'm training to be the greatest Pokemon Master."

"My name is Skye Cassidy, and I'm pretty much the same. This here is Sara Raven."

"You know him?" Sara asked.

Ash nodded. "We saved his Wingull."

"Peeko is in your debt," Mr. Briney said, but looked at me. "You said your name was Skye?"

"Yes, sir, that's right," I was confused. "Is that a problem?"

"No, not at all!" Mr. Briney stood up and walked to his desk, opening a folder. "Come here, the three of you."

"Pika?" Sparky was curious and we walked over to the desk where Mr. Briney was.

"Have you seen this?" Mr. Briney asked, turning to a page where there was a picture of a large rock that looked like a page, it had writing on it.

"What does it say?" Sara asked.

I looked at it. "I think I've seen stuff like this before. My mother showed it to me as a child."

"Well? What does it say!?" Sara asked again. "Read it!"

I sighed. "Alright, alright."

Mr. Briney stepped back and I stepped closer to it, looking down at the writing.

"_Evil-Doers will awaken the two Legendary Pokemon, the one from the land, and the one from the sea. Kyogre and Groudon will come in conflict, and the fighting will last eternally. The world will suffer the chaos, and everything will die. But there is only one hope, and so the world must turn to Skye. The Chosen One alone will not be enough to quell the fighting, meaning the help of the Legendary Flying Pokemon must be obtained, to restore peace and rescue the world from its demise_," I murmured in a clear, but quiet voice.

"What does it mean?" Sara asked.

"It's a prophecy," Mr. Briney said. "You've never heard of it?"

"No," Ash replied. "What's it about?"

"It's about the two Legendary Pokemon, Kyogre and Groudon," Mr. Briney answered.

"Then why does it have Skye's name in it?" Sara asked.

I shrugged. "Maybe there's some other person named Skye."

Mr. Briney didn't answer.

I looked at Sparky. "Pika," Sparky shrugged.

"But what's the whole thing about?" Sara asked another question. "What exactly is supposed to happen?"

"People will awaken Kyogre and Groudon, and they will forever fight, and then the Chosen One is supposed to arise and summon the other Legendary to stop it," Mr. Briney replied.

"And, what about the part where the world is supposed to suffer?" Ash asked.

"The two Legendaries are massive creatures that were put into deep slumbers in chambers, never to be awoken again. Kyogre and Groudon are natural enemies and because their powers are so strong, the world will be effected."

I was totally confused, not sure if it actually meant anything.

"But, maybe it's you, Skye," Mr. Briney smiled.

"Or maybe not," I looked back at him, I didn't want any part in no prophecy. I just wanted to be a Pokemon Trainer, not have to save the world. If this 'chaos' really did start up, someone else could take care of it, someone else by the name of Skye. The _**real**_ Chosen One. "Anyway, we didn't come here to share prophecies and old fairytales. We need you to take us to Dewford Town, and then to Slateport City. If that isn't a problem for you."

"Why, of course not," Mr. Briney said. "I can take you as soon as you want."

"Now would be a preference."

Ash and Sara looked at me with shock.

"Of course," Mr. Briney smiled. "You youngsters wait outside while I gather up some things for the trip."

I turned and walked outside as soon as he finished talking, my two friends followed me.

"Skye? What was that all about?" Ash asked. "That was a bit rude."

"I just don't want him to start thinking I have to save the world because I'm the so-called 'Chosen One'. I'm not and that's it," I replied simply.

Sara and Ash exchanged a glance. "It might not even happen," Sara tried to smile. "So don't even worry about it, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," I smiled back. My smile was more convincing.

Mr. Briney came out of the house with a few bags. "Are we all set?"

"Geez," Sara looked at the bags. "We only need one small bag for a whole journey, and you need a few bags for a little trip?"

"One can never be over prepared," Mr. Briney smiled and his Peeko came out of the house. "Let's get going."

We followed him over to his boat and we all got in. Mr. Briney went up onto the higher level where he would be able to steer the big boat. My friends and I sat down at the sides, putting our bags down under the seats.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu smiled, looking down at the water.

Mr. Briney started the boat and it didn't go very fast, but it was good enough for us. It was a really nice day.

"We should let our Pokemon out," Sara smiled. "It's a really big boat and its a nice day."

"Yeah, why not?" Ash smiled as well. "Come on out," he held out two Pokeballs and his Totodile and Phanpy appeared.

Sara got out four Pokeballs. "Let's go, guys!" All her Pokemon came out.

"Skitty!" Skitty smiled and walked over to Pachirisu, then they started playing. Glaceon and Buneary lied down and relaxed.

I sighed and smiled, taking out two Pokeballs. "Poochyena, Buizel, come on out."

My Poochyena and Buizel came out of their Pokeballs and stretched. Poochyena looked over the edge at the water, watching all the Goldeen, Seaking, Staryu and Magikarp swimming around the boat. Buizel jumped into the water and swam beside the boat, happy to have a swim.

Sparky and Pikachu ran over to Poochyena and they started playing, tumbling around on the boat.

Totodile jumped into the water as well, swimming alongside Buizel and they jumped out, diving back in and having lots of fun.

Sara smiled. "This is cool."

Ash looked at me, I was looking out at the sparkling water with a smile on my face. "Amazing, isn't it?"

I turned and looked at him, nodding. "It's beautiful."

"What are you going to do after you're finished in Hoenn?" Ash asked.

"I was thinking of going to Kanto, then Johto, and maybe Sinnoh, to compete in those Pokemon Leagues as well," I replied.

"Well, after Hoenn, I'm going to Sinnoh. You can come if you'd like."

"Yeah, that would be cool," I smiled, so did he.

"And after Hoenn, I'm going to Kanto!" Sara smiled, popping up. "Anyway, I'm going to go play with Buneary." And she was gone again.

"Then I guess I'll be traveling by myself through Kanto and Johto," I murmured.

Ash shrugged. "I'd go with you if you wanted me to. I'd be happy to go back."

"Really!?" I had a smile on my face and he nodded. "Cool!" I hugged him, taking him, and me, by surprise.

I quickly let him go and looked down at the ground. "Sorry...." I could feel my face going red. I didn't see why, considering I cried on him two nights ago.

"That's alright," Ash replied. "Don't worry about it."

I nodded and we both sat down, looking out at Buizel and Totodile swimming together and having fun.

It was a long few hours before we arrived in Dewford Town, and it was getting dark. I had fallen asleep on Ash's shoulder because I was so tired.

"Skye?" Ash tried to wake me up, but I wouldn't. Sara walked over and looked at me.

"She asleep?" Sara asked and Ash nodded. Sara smirked. "Looks like you're carrying her to the Pokemon Center."

Ash sighed. "Thanks for the offered help."

"You're welcome!" Sara took my Pokeballs and returned Poochyena and Buizel before returning her own Pokemon.

"The trip wasn't that long," Mr. Briney said. "How could she be asleep?"

Ash shrugged, returning his Pokemon and picked me up, putting me on his back. Sara grabbed all of our backpacks and Pikachu and Sparky walked with them to the Pokemon Center, Mr. Briney came with us after securing the boat.

Mr. Briney got a different room and settled down for the night. Ash put me down on a bed, I was still asleep.

Sparky curled up beside my head and fell asleep, Pikachu jumped up on Ash's bed and also fell asleep.

"Ash," Sara murmured and he looked at her. "Outside for a second."

Ash followed Sara out onto the balcony. "So, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong with me," Sara murmured and looked through the glass door at me sleeping. "But it's this prophecy thing. What if it is Skye? She's pretty much declared she wants no part in it. If it is her, what if she refuses to help save the world?"

Ash was silent for a little while, thinking carefully. He sighed. "It's not her. I don't think so anyway. So let's just drop it and not bring it up again."

Sara watched as Ash walked back inside. She growled in frustration. She was the only one considering the possibilities. Ash might have been, but he didn't want to bring it up.

She sighed and went back inside, going to bed.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"I say we should check out the Gym first!"

"And I say we should go find Steven first!"

"Gym!"

"Steven!"

"Gym!"

"Steven-"

"SHUT... UP!"

Ash and Sara turned to look at me, I had a hand on my head.

"You guys are total headaches when you want to be," I sighed and went out onto the balcony.

Sara glared at Ash. "GYM!"

"STEVEN!" Ash growled back.

I growled inwardly and came back in. "Sparky, use Thunderbolt!"

Sparky sighed and stood in between the two arguing friends. "Pika-CHUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!" It shocked the both of them, making them fall backwards.

Sara shook herself and jumped back up. "SKYE!? WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

"Try being quiet for once," I muttered.

"Oh..." Sara looked at the ground in thought. She looked down at Ash. "Gym," she whispered.

"That's better," I sighed.

Ash rolled his eyes. "We need to go find Steven before he decides to leave Dewford Town."

"But, we should go see the Gym," Sara complained, still whispering.

I took a deep breath, walking back out to the balcony, letting them sort it out.

Sara took it as an opportunity to raise her voice. "GYM!"

Ash stood up. "For crying out loud, Sara! It would be better to go find Steven and _**then**_ go check out the Gym!"

"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara whined. "I wanna see the GYM!"

"But we need to give Steven this damn letter!" Ash growled, holding up the letter to show Sara.

I walked back in and grabbed my bag, putting it over my shoulders. My two friends watched me as I walked over to them and took the letter out of Ash's hands and headed for the door. "You two fight it out. I'm going to find Steven. Come on, Sparky."

Sparky ran after me and I was gone, leaving Ash and Sara in the room with Pikachu.

Sara growled. "Skye, wait up!" she ran after me and Ash followed. Pikachu tried to keep up.

I smirked inwardly as my friends caught up. "Finished fighting?" I asked.

"I wanna go see the Gym!" Sara whined like a little kid.

"Then go see the Gym," I replied. "I'm not stopping you. But Steven needs this letter, whatever it is."

Sara shook her head. "I'm going with you."

Ash looked at Sara, but she refused to explain her reluctance to leave me by myself. Ash obviously knew, I didn't.

We came to the Granite Cave and there was a guy with lots of hiking gear. "You three. Are you going into the Granite Cave?" he asked.

We nodded.

"You don't want to!" the guy warned. "It's dangerous in there! There are many wild Pokemon that attack you when it gets pitch black! Do not go in there!"

Sara and Ash were freaked out. "I don't want to turn into Pokemon food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara yelped.

"Me neither!" Ash was tensed up. "Okay, I'm with Sara's idea. I say we go to the Gym."

"See, I told you we should have gone to the Gym!" Sara said. "Skye? Can we go to the Gym now?"

"You can," I muttered. "I'll meet up with you later." I took a step towards the mouth of the cave.

"Are you crazy!?!?!?!" the guy growled. "You want to get yourself killed!?"

"I won't," I answered simply in a voice that made me sound bored. "I have to find someone, and I know he's in this cave. And so I'm going to look for him."

"Skye, that's a bad idea!" Sara whined. "Maybe we should wait for Steven to come back out of the cave and then give him the letter!"

"Steven!?" the guy almost laughed. "You won't find him! He went into that cave two weeks ago and he's never come out. Everybody says he became Pokemon food. Others say he's trapped in there with no way out, or the Pokemon won't let him leave!"

"What about his Pokemon?" Ash asked. "Surely they could fight them off."

"He only took his Milotic with him," the guy said. "And strong or not, there's too many Pokemon in there to fight off. You're better off leaving him and returning the letter to whoever gave it to you."

"Yeah, that's a better idea," Sara said. "Come on, Skye."

"No," I replied. "We were told to give this letter to him. And that's what we're going to do. You can stay here if you're scared, I'm still going in to find him."

"Skye, no don't!" Ash growled. "You're being stupid! You may think you're a good trainer now, but not even a really good trainer wouldn't be able to. The President said that Steven had beaten the Pokemon League, but he hasn't come out. Don't take foolish risks- Skye!"

I continued walking into the cave, Sparky followed me.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu called.

Sparky turned around with a growl. "Pi, Pikachu! Pika, Pi!"

"Skye!" Sara called, but Sparky and I disappeared into the cave.


	7. Absol

"She's done for," the guy sighed.

Ash growled. "Come on, Sara."

Sara nodded. "I guess we have no choice. She'll need our help." _And she needs to be __**alive**__ when the prophecy decides to come true_, Sara thought, remembering how stubborn Ash was not to think Skye had a part in it, when it was quite clear.

Ash, Pikachu and Sara ran into the cave after me and Sparky.

"Skye, where are you!?" Sara called.

"Over here!" I called back and they found me at the end of the tunnel. "So, you decided to come with me."

"We can't let you do something as stupid as this by yourself!" Sara called back and my friends caught up to me.

"Thanks for coming," I murmured. "Now let's go find Steven."

I turned and looked at the gap between the rocks, it was small, we'd have to crawl through. An adult could crawl through it, but it was pretty narrow.

I crouched down and held out a Pokeball. "Poochyena, come on out."

Poochyena appeared and looked up at me. "Pooch?"

"Poochyena, we need you to go through this gap and smell if there's anything beyond it," I murmured.

Poochyena sniffed the gap and walked through it. We waited patiently for Poochyena to return. It took a while, but Poochyena came back, nodding.

"There's another cave?" I asked and Poochyena nodded again. "Alright. We need you to lead the way."

Poochyena turned and went back through. "Sparky, you go first," I said and Sparky followed Poochyena.

"Skye?" Ash was nervous.

"It'll be okay," I replied. "Trust me."

It was my turn, so I began crawling through the gap. I reached the other side and I was able to stand up properly, but I couldn't see a thing, everything was pitch black. I reached up with my hands, but I couldn't touch the ceiling. _Didn't think so_, I thought. _Meaning there could be big Pokemon in here_.

Ash, Pikachu and Sara followed. "Skye?"

"Right here," I replied. "Move to the left and put your hand against the cave wall. Then follow me."

"I can't see a thing!" Sara complained.

Poochyena started growling quietly. "Keep it down," my friends heard me whisper. "We have company!"

My friends moved closer to the wall and put their hands against it.

"Get down!" I whispered urgently and they did, so did I and I felt a gush of wind above us as the wild Pokemon took a swing, searching for us.

I heard Sara whimpering very quietly, she was scared.

_Keep quiet_! I silently thought. This wasn't good. As soon as we get in the cave we get attacked.

Sparky moved back and pressed its body against me, it was scared, even Poochyena crawled back to me.

I heard the footsteps of the Pokemon. It backed up a little. I heard it take in breath, but then it let out a huge roar.

The roar echoed around the cave and shook it. A rock must have fallen from the roof and landed in front of Sara because she screamed.

The roar stopped and Sara kept quiet again, but it was too late.

I stood up. "Sparky! Use Thunderbolt!"

Sparky stood up too. "Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The cave was lit up and I saw a huge Pokemon. It was dark gray and it has light gray on its head, arms, legs and back. It had two horns on its head and it also had claws. I knew this Pokemon as Aggron, a Steel/Rock Type, and very dangerous in the wild. Like an Ursaring.

The lightning attack hit Aggron and it roared in pain. I looked to the left and saw another crevice at the end of the huge cave. If we could reach that, we would be okay for now.

I turned and looked at my friends. "Get to the end of the cave and the other side of the crevice."

"But, what about you!?" Ash asked.

"Steel Types are weak against Electric Types," I said as the Thunderbolt kept going. "It's the only option we've got. Now GO!"

Ash and Sara got up and bolted for the crevice that they could just manage to see with the Thunderbolt lighting up the cave.

It went black again as Sparky had to stop.

"Poochyena! Use Shadow Ball!" I said.

Poochyena nodded and let loose a Shadow Ball, making it hit Aggron.

"Sparky, Thunderbolt, again!" I said.

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sparky shocked Aggron again, but this time it took a swing. It lowered its head in anger and threw it towards us.

I quickly ducked and Aggron headbutted the cave wall. It tried to move back, but it was stuck. "Run!" I told my Pokemon and we ran beside the wall, aiming for the crevice, but then there wasn't anymore wall.

"Sparky, use Thunderbolt to light up the cave!" I said and Sparky did. The crevice wasn't far, Ash and Sara were already crawling through, Pikachu waiting at the entrance for us.

I turned around and saw that Aggron had ripped its head out of the wall and turned to us.

"Keep going," I said and we ran blindly again towards the crevice. We heard the pounding footsteps of Aggron as it charged after us, but then it roared.

I heard more footsteps and my heart skipped a beat. It just called for more Pokemon.

We nearly reached the crevice, but I knew something was in front of us. Sparky was getting tired.

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Pikachu shocked the Lairon that stood in our way and we got to the crevice, avoiding the other Pokemon. Pikachu ran through the crevice, then Poochyena, but Sparky wouldn't move until I went through.

I crawled through and Sparky used Thunderbolt on the Pokemon again before running after me.

I got to the end and stood up, I was able to see things clearer. There was a hole in the roof and the sunlight streamed in.

Ash and Sara were breathing heavily, Pikachu looking around and Poochyena sniffing for more danger. Sparky came after me and I took a deep breath.

"That was scary!" Sara murmured. "How are we going to get out of here!?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I didn't think it would be like this."

"Well, we nearly became Pokemon chew toys all because you're so determined to give Steven that letter!" Ash tried to growl, but he was too tired.

I looked around, there was many different caves, at least five or six. Some up on high cliffs, some on the ground.

"Which way now, genius?" Sara asked with a growl to her tone.

"Hey!" I growled back. "I didn't say you had to come with me! You could have gone to the Gym, you didn't have to come!"

"Well I did, all because I wanted to make sure you didn't get hurt!" Sara growled.

"I would have been fine!"

"Oh, and you call nearly getting crushed, fine!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Sara was nearly yelling at me now.

"Alright, settle down!" Ash said. "Before you bring unwanted attention!"

"Well, I didn't know that Aggron was in that part of the damn cave!!!!!" I raised my voice a little more.

"Well there's bound to be Pokemon in this cave!!!!!" Sara yelled. "If Steven couldn't get out, then how do you suppose we do!? I don't feel like living in a stupid cave for the rest of my life, do you!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

"We'll get out!" I yelled back at her. "We're not gonna be stuck in here forever!"

"How do you know that!?"

I was about to say something else, but I sighed and looked at the ground. "I don't...."

"Exactly!" Sara growled. "Now, thanks to you and your stupidity, we're stuck here!!!!!"

"I'm sorry, okay!?" I snapped and Sara blinked at me. "I'm sorry! I'll get us out of here if that'll make you happy! But not until we find Steven!"

Sara watched as I walked towards a cave entrance. "Are you coming or not!?" I tried not to snarl from being blamed for this mess.

"I think you went too far," Ash whispered to Sara.

"So do I....." Sara whispered back and they all followed me.

Poochyena and Sparky walked beside me. We went into another cave, and it just got darker. It was pitch black again, but Sara didn't say a word.

We spent the next half an hour running from wild Pokemon and crawling through cracks and searching for Steven. The only things we found was wild Pokemon, and more tunnels leading deeper into the Granite Cave.

We hid under an overhang of rocks where we wouldn't be seen by the two Aggron that were standing in front of a small crevice.

"Okay, it's either, those Pokemon are getting smart and making their own kind of telephone to tell each other we're here," Sara muttered. "Or there's something behind that crevice we need to find out."

"I say we get past it," I murmured. "They look like they're guarding it, and I don't think they're just standing there to stop us from getting any further."

"Do you think Steven's in there?" Ash asked me and I nodded.

"WOO HOO! WE FOUND STEVEN!!!!!!!!!" Sara yelled, but me and Ash quickly covered her mouth with both our hands.

The two Aggron looked our way and then came a few more Pokemon: a Lairon and five Mightyena's.

"Now you've done it!" Ash growled quietly. "We're in trouble now!"

The small pack of Mightyena started coming our way.

"Poochyena," I whispered. "Try to talk to the Mightyena. Say we have to get Steven out of here and we'll go. If things get bad, we'll help you."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ash asked.

"We're going to be found out one way or another," I replied. "If we can negotiate our way out of this, we can get Steven and get out. If we can't, we have to fight this one."

Ash sighed and nodded. Poochyena took a deep breath and strolled out from under the rock-overhand. It walked over to the alert Mightyena and it stopped. The pack of five Mightyena looked down at my tiny Poochyena, but the little Pokemon wasn't afraid.

"Might!" Mightyena snarled.

"Pooch! Poochyena! Pooch! Pooch!" Poochyena replied, not even quivering with fear.

One Mightyena brought itself down to Poochyena's height, well, tried to, and snarled in its face, but Poochyena made it look like a game and snarled back, and then sniffed it. The Mightyena jumped back and growled. "Might! Mightyena! Might!"

"Pooch!" Poochyena wagged its tail in a sign of peace. "Poochyena! Pooch!"

The leader of the tiny pack shook its head. "Mightyena!"

"Pooch?" Poochyena tilted its head. "Poochyena! Pooch! Pooch!"

The lead Mightyena lifted a paw and showed its claws with a loud snarl.

"Aggron! Aggron!" one of the Aggron growled.

"Mightyena! Might!" the leader growled back and turned to Poochyena, it was _**tiny**_ compared to the pack. Being half the size of a normal Poochyena would do that though.

"Poochyena!" Poochyena was still trying to talk us out of it. I had Buizel's Pokeball ready to jump in and help Poochyena if it came to trouble.

"Might!" the lead Mightyena took a step towards Poochyena, its fur bristling.

"Pooch?" Poochyena tilted its head again, but the lead Poochyena swiped its massive paw and threw Poochyena away. "Might!" it said to its pack and they ran at Poochyena.

I ran out and stood in front of Poochyena, making the pack stop cautiously. Sparky ran out and stood in front of me. "Sparky! Use Thunderbolt!" I growled.

"Pika!" Sparky nodded. "Piiiiika-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Electricity shot from Sparky's cheeks and shocked the whole pack. They howled and were very angry. Ash and Sara ran out to help me, even Pikachu.

Sara threw a Pokeball. "Glaceon! Use Blizzard!"

Glaceon came out of its Pokeball and shot a Blizzard attack at the pack, making them freeze up instantly.

"We have to get through that crevice!" Ash said.

I turned to see Poochyena standing up properly, wagging its tail with a smile on its face. "That was very good, Poochyena," I smiled back. "Glad to see you're okay."

"Come on," Sara said and we ran towards the two Aggron and the Lairon.

They stopped us by stepping in our road. Lairon used Metal Sound and a white-ish beam flew towards us.

I threw Buizel's Pokeball in the air. "Buizel, use Sonicboom!"

Buizel appeared in the air and it spun, sending a shock wave towards the Metal Sound attack. The two attacks collided and caused an explosion.

"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash called.

"Sparky, you too!" I added.

Sparky and Pikachu held paws and let out a massive Thunderbolt each, making each others attack stronger. The attack shot through the smoke and electrocuted the three Pokemon standing in our way.

The smoke cleared and we ran forward, looking at the cringing Steel Pokemon.

"Glaceon, use Ice Beam!" Sara commanded and Glaceon shot them with an Ice Beam, freezing them.

"Come on, let's go!" I said and we got to the crevice. I was prepared to wait for my friends to go through first, but Sara pushed me down to it, so I crawled through quickly.

We all got to the other side and sat down, breathing hard. Poochyena sniffed the air and spun around, growling. We jumped up and looked behind us, to see someone sitting on a rock with a Milotic lying beside him.

"Who are you?" the guy asked.

"Who are _you_?" I asked.

"Me? I am Steven," he replied.

A smile crossed my face. "We found you!"

"Why were you looking for me?" Steven asked, pushing his silver hair out of his face.

"We have a letter for you from the president of Devon Corporation," Ash replied as I took out the letter and ran over to give him the letter. Steven opened it and read it. He sighed.

"What's the matter?" I asked as Sparky came over and jumped up on my shoulder.

"The president of Devon Corp. has asked me to do a task for him, but I can't," Steven replied. "The Aggron won't let me leave and I couldn't fight my way out, or even sneak out when they sleep."

"Why?" I asked.

"My Milotic is weak and wouldn't be able to fight them off."

"So, why couldn't you sneak out when they fall asleep?"

"Because I lost Milotic's Pokeball whilst fighting them. Milotic only just managed to get in here, but the Aggron made the crevice smaller."

"Where did you lose the Pokeball?"

"Why bother asking. I'm stuck here. I won't leave Milotic to go look for it and I would wake up all the Pokemon."

"Then I'll go get it," I offered.

"Skye, now you're being really stupid!" Sara growled.

"Steven is stuck here if he can't get the Pokeball for Milotic," I said. "If we want to help him get out, we need to find the Pokeball."

Sara sighed. "But, we should go with you-"

I shook my head. "Too risky. Me, Sparky and Poochyena will go."

"Are you sure?" Ash asked.

"Positive," I looked at him.

Sara blinked at me, something unseen shining in her eyes.

I turned back to Steven. "Now, tell me where you lost the Pokeball."

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Great, they're still frozen," I murmured as Poochyena, Sparky and I crawled out of the crevice. I got up and we ran down the right tunnel, off to find the Pokeball.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Ash, now will you believe me?" Sara asked.

"About what?" Ash returned a question as they were sitting with Steven, getting out their Potions used for treating injured Pokemon.

"That Skye could possibly be the Chosen One from the Prophecy?"

"No," Ash said simply.

"Come on!" Sara growled. "It's so easy to see that Skye is the person in the prophecy! Have you heard of anyone called Skye?"

"Yeah," Ash replied. "Skye, and not the 'Chosen One'."

"Why can't you see it!?" Sara growled again. "Skye is being so brave by taking such risks! I reckon she'd give her life to protect Pokemon or even the world!"

"No, Skye is just being stupid," Ash muttered.

Sara growled.

"Which 'Prophecy' are you talking about?" Steven asked.

"The one about Kyogre and Groudon fighting and the Chosen One having to go find some other Legendary Pokemon to stop it and save the world," Sara replied before Ash could stop her.

"Oh that one," Steven smiled. "I thought about that when I heard you say Skye's name. To be honest, Skye is a very rare name, and that girl is the only person I have ever met with that name. And I have met a lot of people."

"Now will you consider it!?" Sara asked Ash, he just shrugged.

"Look, Sara. Skye wants no part in this, so stop trying to believe that Skye is some 'Chosen One' who is supposed to save the world. If she knew you kept talking about it, you'd know what she'd say."

"I know," Sara whined. "But if she is the one, then she has to save the world, no one else can do it!"

"Just drop it!" Ash growled.

Sara rolled her eyes and continued to spray Potion on Milotic's wounds.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Sparky, Thunderbolt! Poochyena, Shadow Ball! Buizel, Sonicboom!"

I watched as all three of my Pokemon used the attacks I ordered. Around us was a pack of more Mightyena.

"At least we know where the rest of the pack is," I muttered, knowing that this should be the rest of the other pack.

One Mightyena tried to get closer, but Sparky used Iron Tail to make it jumped back.

Sparky and the other two were getting tired, we couldn't keep up the fight for long. We had to get away.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Have the two of you heard of Absol?" Steven asked.

"Absol?" Ash echoed.

"Who's that?" Sara asked.

"It's known as the Disaster Pokemon," Steven explained. "People say that when you see it, a disaster is going to happen. They usually live in the mountains, but there's one in this cave. I saw it while Milotic and I were trying to escape, but we were stuck in here."

"We haven't seen it," Sara shrugged.

Steven sighed. "Let's just hope Skye doesn't."

"Why?" Ash asked.

"Because something bad might happen to her while she's trying to get Milotic's Pokeball," Steven replied. "And it's wild, it might attack her like the other Pokemon attacked us."

"I hope not," Ash murmured.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Sparky, use Iron Tail!"

Sparky jumped up and its tail slammed against Mightyena's head, but another Mightyena went to bite it.

"Sparky!" I yelled and ran forward, shouldering the Mightyena out of the way and falling to the ground.

"Pika!" Sparky exclaimed and ran to my side, Poochyena and Buizel too.

I sat up. "I'm alright. LOOK OUT!"

One Mightyena jumped at us with a snarl.

Poochyena spun around and opened its mouth, a huge black sphere forming quickly and it closed its mouth, sending the Shadow Ball into Mightyena.

Mightyena was hit and thrown away, now Poochyena was taking things seriously. It let out a loud snarl and barred its teeth, making its tail bristle.

"Poochyena..." I murmured.

The rest of the pack started moving in on us and Poochyena crouched down a little, snarling louder.

There was a sudden roar and all the Mightyena turned to look. I sat up quickly and saw a white, four-legged Pokemon with black/blue claws, a black/blue spear-like tail, a black/blue face, a black/blue oval on its forehead and a black/blue curved blade-looking thing on its head.

The Mightyena were tense, and a little bit scared.

The Pokemon swung its head and a white beam came off it, flying towards us. I ducked down and all the Mightyena's were thrown away from us.

"Ab, Absol!" it said, pointing down a tunnel with its head.

Poochyena ran towards it but stopped and looked at me. "Pooch! Poochyena!"

"Pika!" Sparky started pulling at my shirt and pointing to the Pokemon.

"It wants us to follow it?" I asked.

"Pika, Pi," Sparky nodded and I got up.

"Alright, let's go," I ran with Sparky, Buizel and Poochyena and then the Pokemon ran down a tunnel, we followed.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"So, what else does this, Absol, do?" Sara asked.

"Well, not many people come across them, and they are very rarely caught. Absol choose their trainers, if they think they're not worthy, they will run away from them or attack them," Steven replied. "Legend says that when Absol appears to a Trainer in a cave, they save them from any trouble they're in and lead them to safety. But actually, that's what the Trainer thinks. Absol actually leads them into a trap and uses Taunt, Leer and Swords Dance to scare and attack them. Those Trainers are never seen again."

"Never seen again!?" Sara exclaimed.

"That's right," Steven nodded.

Sara's eyes were wide. "But Skye could be in trouble right now! What if that Absol shows up and leads her somewhere and attacks her!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

"I don't know," Steven sighed. "But I hope she has the sense to stay away from it if she does see it."


	8. The Chosen Trainer and the Dewford Gym

"Buizel, return," I sighed and Buizel went back into its Pokeball. I put the Pokeball away and took a few deep breaths. I looked at the Pokemon that saved us. "Thank you for helping us back there. You saved our lives."

"Absol," it said and took a step towards me, its eyes glittering.

I took a step back, suddenly nervous. Sparky and Poochyena jumped in front of me and growled at the Pokemon.

"I took out my Pokedex and pointed it at the Pokemon. "Absol," it said. "The Disaster Pokemon. Absol can predict if a disaster is going to happen. Ancient Legends say that when a person sees an Absol, a disaster is going to happen. They can also be very dangerous by tricking Trainers and attacking them."

I put my Pokedex away. "So, you're Absol."

"Ab!" it growled and took another step towards me, but I saw it wince. It was so quick I nearly missed it.

Sparky had sparks coming off its cheeks, which was how it got its nickname. Poochyena was about to summon a Shadow Ball.

I looked at Absol's shoulder and I suddenly saw an injury. "You're hurt," I murmured.

Absol growled and took another step.

"Pika!" Sparky threatened.

I wasn't afraid of Absol, it was hurt. I wanted to help it.

I stepped past Sparky and Poochyena and walked over to Absol. It took a step back but was backed against the cave wall. I knelt down in front of it. "It's okay," I murmured. "I want to help you."

Absol watched as I reached into my bag and pulled out an orange spray-bottle. "This is Potion," I explained. "It's used for treating injuries. Will you let me use it on you?"

Absol was cautious, but nodded.

"Okay, but this will sting a bit. Please don't attack me for it," I warned and sprayed it on the injury.

Absol winced and growled, but tried to remain still as I continued to spray it.

When I was finished, I put the bottle back in my bag and stood up, taking a few steps away from the Pokemon.

"Absol?" it said.

It was as big as a Mightyena, which nearly reached my shoulder.

"We have to get going," I sighed. "We have to find a Pokeball and get back to our friends."

"Absol!" it said and disappeared down a tunnel.

"Pika?" Sparky tilted its head/

"Wonder where it went."

Absol came back a few seconds later, with something in its mouth; a Pokeball!

My eyes widened. "Milotic's Pokeball!!!!!!!!!"

Absol walked over to me and I took the Pokeball. "Thank you," I said.

"Pika, Pi," Sparky said and pointed in the direction back to the others.

"We have to go," I said to Absol again. "Thank you for the help."

I put the Pokeball away and started walking back up the tunnel we came though. Sparky and Poochyena followed me.

"Absol!"

I turned around and saw Absol walking after us. I smiled. "You want to come?"

Absol nodded. "Ab."

"Okay," I nodded. "And, Absol?"

"Absol?"

"Could you help us get out of this cave?" I asked. "We have to get out of here."

Absol nodded and we all ran up the tunnel.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"I hope Skye is okay."

"Ash, just sit down!" Sara sighed. "She'll be fine! This is Skye we're talking about."

"But what if she's run into Absol?" Ash asked. "What if she ran into more wild Pokemon and her Pokemon aren't enough to fight them off?"

"She'll be fine," Steven assured him.

They heard something from the small crevice and they saw me crawling back through it. Sparky and Poochyena appeared, and Absol came in last.

Steven jumped to his feet. "No way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"What?" I asked.

"Why is Absol with you!?"

"That's Absol!?" Sara jumped to her feet as well.

"Absol saved me, and it's going to help us out of the cave," I murmured and took out the Pokeball. "Absol found it and gave it to me."

Steven cautiously walked over and took Milotic's Pokeball. "Thank you," he said and went back to Milotic.

"Isn't Absol dangerous?" Ash asked.

"No," I replied. "It was hurt though, and so I helped treat its injury."

Steven returned Milotic into its Pokeball. "Alright then. Let's get out of here."

We crawled back out of the crevice, but I was a little shocked when I stood up and looked around.

"Uh-oh........." I muttered.

"What is it?" Sara asked as she jumped up beside me.

"Where's the Aggron, Lairon and Mightyena?" I mumbled.

"Absol!" it said and watched as Poochyena came out of the crevice and started sniffing around. Compared to Absol, it was tiny.

"Pooch!" Poochyena barked and its nose pointed in the direction the Pokemon took.

"Okay, then we can get out the way we came in!" Sara smiled.

I shook my head. "Absol would know this cave better than anyone. I say it should lead the way out."

"How can you trust an Absol?" Steven asked me.

"I trust any Pokemon that saves my life," I replied and turned to Absol. "Will you lead the way out of this cave?"

Absol nodded and ran down the left tunnel. We all ran after Absol and it made sure it stopped so we could catch up.

Poochyena sniffed the air as we ran and barked right after Absol pulled to a stop.

"What's the matter?" I asked Absol.

"Ab!" Absol replied and shook itself before walking forward.

Poochyena was growling, but it followed us anyway.

We reached a large cavern after a while, and we recognized it.

"This is the cavern we escaped to after we just managed to get away from the first Pokemon attack," Sara smiled. "We're nearly out!"

"Ab!" Absol growled and looked around and Poochyena was growling. Sparky and Pikachu were alert too.

I looked around up at the tunnels up on the cliffs, there were Mightyena in every one. They all jumped down and surrounded us.

I grabbed a Pokeball. "Buizel, come on out."

Buizel came out and crossed its arms.

Absol growled at the Mightyena, but they weren't scared of it now. They growled right back, snapping at us.

Sara and Ash stood on either side of Steven. "Buneary, let's go!" Sara said and her Buneary showed up.

"Bun?" Buneary looked at the Mightyena and hid behind Sara.

"Buneary!" Sara said. "You have to fight them!"

"Bun.. Buneary!" Buneary was scared.

"Phanpy, I choose you!" Ash said and his Phanpy came out of its Pokeball.

One Mightyena jumped at Absol, but the white Pokemon swung its head and a white shock wave thing came from the blade on its head, hitting Mightyena and sending it flying.

"That's a Razor Wind attack," Sara murmured.

"Sparky, use Thunderbolt!" I called and Sparky shocked three Mightyena.

"Phanpy, use Rollout!" Ash yelled and Phanpy curled up in a ball, rolling at a high speed and hitting a fair few Mightyena.

"Alright, Buneary, use Dizzy Punch!" Sara commanded.

Buneary jumped at a Mightyena, throwing its ears up at it and hitting it over and over again.

"Now use Ice Beam!" Sara said and Buneary froze the Mightyena.

"Poochyena, use Shadow Ball!" I ordered and Poochyena shot out a huge black sphere. It hit two Mightyena in one go.

Our Pokemon and Absol were fighting the Mightyena for a long time, but then two Aggron showed up.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called and Pikachu shocked them. They just came at us again.

"Sparky," I said. "We have one shot, so let's not waste it."

Sparky looked up at me and my eyes shined with the memory of watching Pikachu. Sparky had determination in its eyes and it nodded, knowing exactly what I meant.

"Alright, Sparky! Use Bolt Tackle!"

Ash spun around and saw Sparky begin running at both Aggron, getting faster and faster. Electricity suddenly surrounded it. "Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika!" it said quickly as it ran, the electricity getting brighter. It slammed into the Aggron. "Pik-A!!!!!"

The two Steel Type Pokemon were thrown back and Sparky shocked them with a Thunderbolt before running back.

"Excellent, Sparky!" I smiled. "Now, Buizel, use Sonicboom!"

Absol had stopped to watch Sparky use Bolt Tackle, and now it watched Buizel jumped up and spin, sending a shock wave flying towards a Mightyena and hitting, making an explosion.

"Poochyena, Shadow Ball! Full power!" I yelled.

Poochyena opened its mouth, making a black sphere form. It grew bigger and bigger, nearly the same size as a Mightyena. Absol watched it after hitting a Mightyena with a Razor Wind attack.

"Let it loose!" I called and Poochyena closed its mouth, making the black sphere fly at three Mightyena and they were thrown back against the cave wall. It was actually shocking for me to see such a little Poochyena use such a huge and powerful attack.

I turned to look at Absol, a Mightyena jumped at it from behind as it was using Razor Wind against another Mightyena.

"Absol!" I cried out and ran over, shouldering the Mightyena away and falling over like I did before.

Absol spun around and looked down at me with wide eyes. "Glad to see you didn't get hurt," I smiled and got back up. "Are you okay?"

Absol nodded. "Ab, Absol."

Absol looked up at me as I ran over to Sparky.

There was two Mightyena left, and Ash exchanged a glance with me. We both smiled. "Use Bolt Tackle!" we both called out.

Pikachu and Sparky jumped to each others side and started running towards the Mightyena. "Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika!!!!!!!" they both said as they ran. Then they collided with the Mightyena. "Pik-A!!!!!!!!!"

There was a massive explosion and smoke rose up everywhere. Pikachu and Sparky came running back with huge smiles.

"That's sorted," Sara said. "Let's get out of here."

"Lead the way, Absol," I said and Absol nodded before running down a different direction than the way we came in.

"Are you sure Absol will get us out?" Ash asked me.

"It brought us this far," I replied. "Trust me, Absol will get us out of this tunnel."

Absol looked over its shoulder at me but kept running.

After a while, we all saw light up ahead and before we knew it, we were out of the Granite Cave.

"YES!!!!!!!!!!" Sara yelled. "We're out!"

"Buneary!" Buneary smiled and jumped around with Sara.

"It's been ages since I saw sunlight," Steven smiled.

"I told you Absol would get us out," I smiled and looked at the white Pokemon. "Thank you, Absol. You really are amazing."

"Ab," Absol smiled back at me.

"Let's get back to the Pokemon Center and rest before we go to the Gym," Ash suggested.

I nodded. "Our Pokemon need rest before we decide to take on Brawly."

"Let's get going then!" Sara smiled. "I could do with a good long rest!"

I turned back to Absol. "Thanks again. We're going to go now." I crouched down in front of Absol. "You saved my life back in that cave. I'm glad I was able to help you in return." I patted its head and stood up properly. "See ya."

I turned and followed my friends and Steven back towards the Pokemon Center. We all returned our Pokemon and Sparky jumped up on my shoulder.

As I walked, I saw a flash of white, and then Absol stood in front of me, making me stop. "Absol?" I murmured. "What's wrong?"

"What's Absol doing?" Sara asked and everyone stopped.

"Ab! Absol!" Absol said.

"You know what I think?" Ash smiled. "I think Absol wants to go with you, Skye."

I looked back down at Absol. "You want to come with me?"

Absol nodded and smiled at me.

"Like I said," Steven murmured. "An Absol chooses its Trainer. If it thinks someone is worthy, it will go with them."

"So, I'm worthy," I smiled. "Alright, Absol. You can come along."

"Absol!" it said and I got out a new Pokeball. Absol touched its nose to the button in the middle and it opened up. A red light engulfed Absol and it went inside the Pokeball. It wobbled for a bit, but then it stopped. Absol was mine.

"You just caught a very rare Pokemon," Ash told me. "Not many Absol choose to have a Trainer. Absol must think you're a very good trainer."

Sara was deep in thought. _If Absol can really predict when a disaster is going to happen, like Steven said, then maybe Absol will predict the prophecy when it comes true. And then we'll find out if Skye is the Chosen One or not_.

"Let's go back," Ash said. "Before Sara falls asleep on her feet."

"Yeah, you don't want to carry _me_ back to the Pokemon Center, do you!?" Sara poked her tongue out at him. "You'll carry Skye, but not me."

I looked at Ash, remembering that he had to carry me to the Pokemon Center because I fell asleep on his shoulder yesterday.

We all went back to Dewford Town and everyone was shocked to see Steven.

The guy we met at the front of Granite Cave was the first to come over. "How did you manage to find him?" he asked me. "Were you attacked?"

I nodded. "But it's thanks to Absol that we all got out," I held up the Pokeball and looked at it with a smile. "It saved all of us....."

"Absol?" the guy asked. "What Pokemon is that?"

I smiled. "I'll show you. Alright, Absol, let's go!"

Absol came out of its Pokeball, standing at my side and looking around it. "Absol," it said.

"Wow, how long have you had it?" the guy had a huge smile on his face.

"Ten minutes at least," I murmured a reply. "It was a wild Pokemon in the Granite Cave but it wanted to come along with me.

"At least you have a strong Pokemon to face Brawly with," Steven said.

"All my Pokemon are strong," I smiled. "They all work their hardest with everything. That's why they're so strong."

"Spoken like a true Pokemon Master," Steven smiled back.

"Well, let's just get back to the Pokemon Center," Sara said. "All our Pokemon need to be treated. Even Milotic and Absol."

I nodded and we went to the Pokemon Center, Absol walking beside me.

"Ab," it said and I looked down at it with a smile. I patted it on the head and it smiled back. "Absol!"

We went into the Pokemon Center and over to the front desk. "Hi, Nurse Joy," Ash said.

"Hello all of you," Nurse Joy smiled. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes please," I said. "All our Pokemon need to be taken care of. We had some struggles in the Granite Cave."

It was only then that Nurse Joy saw Steven. "Oh, it's so good to see you again, Steven. It's been two weeks."

"Yes," Steven smiled. "I was trapped in there by the wild Pokemon, but Skye and her team helped me get out."

Nurse Joy smiled. "Thank you all."

"It was mainly Skye," Sara replied. "She was the one who insisted we go into the cave, even though we were told it was dangerous. And no matter what, she kept going forward. And then when we found Steven, she went alone back through the cave to find Milotic's lost Pokeball."

I ducked my head and Absol looked at me.

"Oh, Absol," Nurse Joy was shocked to see it over the front desk. "I didn't think that Pokemon would ever come out of the cave, let alone be around people!"

"Absol is my Pokemon now," I smiled. "It helped us get out of the cave and it saved my life. It wanted to come along."

"Well, that's sweet. I'll take your Pokemon and get them all fixed up for you."

I held up Absol's Pokeball. "That means you too. Return, Absol."

Absol went inside the Pokeball and I handed it, and the other two, to Nurse Joy. Sparky jumped on the front desk with Pikachu. The others gave Nurse Joy the Pokemon that needed to get treated.

"Please wait in the waiting room," Nurse Joy said and we all went there.

I saw a row of video phones. "Do you think I'd be allowed to use one of those?" I wondered.

"Of course," Ash said. "That's why they're there."

"Cool. I'm going to phone home and tell my mum that I'm okay," I smiled. "She'd be worried."

"Go ahead," Sara smiled back. "Can we meet her?"

I nodded. "Come on."

Steven stayed where he was and the three of us walked over to the video phone. I sat down and picked up the phone, dialing home. Ash and Sara stood on either side of me.

"Hello?" came the reply and my mother's face came up on the screen. "Oh, Skye! Hello dear, how are you? How's your journey been?"

"It's been great, mum," I replied. "This is Sara and Ash, my friends that I've been traveling with."

"Hello you two, thank you for accompanying my daughter," my mother said.

"It was nothing Mrs. Cassidy," Ash replied. "She rescued my Pikachu so it was the least we could do."

"Oh yes, which Pokemon did you choose?" my mother asked me. "How many Pokemon do you have now?"

"My first Pokemon was a Pikachu called Sparky," I replied simply. "I have a Poochyena that's really small. I had a Skitty but I traded it to Sara for her Buizel. And now I have an Absol."

"That's wonderful, dear!" my mother was happy. "Can I see them?"

"They're actually getting treated by Nurse Joy. We had some trouble in the Granite Cave in Dewford Town."

I heard a ding and we turned around to see Nurse Joy coming out with a stretcher. Pikachu, Sparky and all the Pokeballs were on it.

"Be right back," I said to my mother and we went over to Nurse Joy.

"They're all back to their normal selves," Nurse Joy smiled and we took our Pokeballs back. Sparky jumped up on my shoulder.

"Thanks, Nurse Joy," Sara said and we went back to the video phone.

"Back," I said, sitting down in front of the screen. "This is my buddy, Sparky. My very first Pokemon."

"Aw, it's so adorable!" my mother smiled. "What about the others?"

Ash and Sara stood back. I stood up and back away, holding out three Pokeballs. "Come on out, you guys!"

Poochyena appeared on the seat, Buizel beside it and Absol was in front of me.

"I'd like for you all to meet my mother," I smiled. "Mum, this is Poochyena, Buizel and Absol."

"They are so adorable!" my mother couldn't stop smiling. "But, it's amazing that you have an Absol. Don't they choose their Trainers?"

I nodded. "Absol chose me as its Trainer. We helped each other in the Granite Cave and it wanted to come with me."

"That's good... wait, did you say Granite Cave?"

"I said that before as well," I murmured, confused.

"YOU WENT INTO THE GRANITE CAVE!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

"Yeah...." I mumbled. "What's wrong with that?"

"That cave is dangerous! The Pokemon attack you and you could never have come back!"

"Ab, Absol," Absol said and sat down beside me.

"We had to go in to rescue Steven," Sara said. "Skye wasn't scared."

"And Absol was there to help," Ash looked at Absol and smiled. Absol smiled back.

"It was foolish to go in there!!!!!!!!!!" my mother was mad.

"Sorry, mum...." I muttered. "But we had no choice. Steven was trapped in there and we had to give him a letter. We were attacked by Aggron, Lairon and a whole pack of Mightyena-"

"You should never do something like that again!" my mother was also frightened.

"I would if it meant saving someone!" I yelled back but quickly settled down before I startled my friends, Sara glanced at Ash with a look of knowledge, Ash glared back at her, still trying to put it off. "I would give my life to save someone!" I continued quietly. "I'd do it again if I had to."

My mother nodded. "Just as I thought. That's why I named you Skye."

I tilted my head. "Why?"

"Because of a prophecy that was foretold 50 years ago," my mother smiled.

"The one about Kyogre and Groudon?" I asked.

My mother nodded. "I saw strength in you the day you were born. I told you how your father was a brave man and that he always wanted a girl named Skye. That's why."

"Enough with that stupid prophecy!" I growled. "It's got nothing to do with me. I want nothing to do with it. Stop talking about it and thinking it is me, it's not!"

"I'm sorry, dear," my mother said but the doorbell rang. "I have to go now. There's visitors. Bye honey, good luck!"

"Bye," I stepped forward and hung up, sighing.

"You okay, Skye?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, perfect," I replied. _Why does everyone think I'm the so-called 'Chosen One' of this stupid prophecy_!? I thought.

"Ab, Absol," Absol said.

Sparky looked at me and back at Absol. Absol wouldn't take its eyes off of me.

"Let's go get some rest," Sara suggested and we went upstairs, Steven went to his own room.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Absol...." Absol was out on the balcony, looking up at the stars intently.

"Hey, Absol. Can't sleep, huh?"

Absol turned around and Sara appeared behind it. She smiled.

"Ab," it replied.

"I hope Skye didn't surprise you with her growling before," Sara sighed. "She gets like that when someone mentions the prophecy to her."

"Absol?" it tilted its head.

"It's ancient. You wanna hear it?"

"Ab," it nodded.

Sara sighed. "Evil-Doers will awaken the two Legendary Pokemon, the one from the land, and the one from the sea. Kyogre and Groudon will come in conflict, and the fighting will last eternally. The world will suffer the chaos, and everything will die. But there is only one hope, and so the world must turn to Skye."

"Absol," it said and Sara smiled before continuing.

"The Chosen One alone will not be enough to quell the fighting, meaning the help of the Legendary Flying Pokemon must be obtained, the restore peace and rescue the world from its demise."

Absol looked back up at the stars.

"Skye keeps saying that it's not her," Sara sighed. "But you can tell when a disaster will hit. Do you know if it's her?"

Absol was quiet. It closed its eyes and focused. After a few moments, its eyes snapped open, startling Sara.

She breathed. "Well?"

Absol shrugged and Sara sighed. "Oh well. We'll find out one day."

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Can we go to the Gym now!?" Sara asked.

"Yes, we can go to the Gym now," Ash sighed.

"Who's battling first?" I asked Ash.

"You can," Ash offered me a chance.

I smiled. "Alright. Thanks."

"Let's go," Sara said and I grabbed my bag, putting it over my shoulders. I pulled out three Pokeballs. "Come on, guys!"

Absol, Poochyena and Buizel went back into their Pokeballs and we headed for the door. I was going to battle Brawly today.

We reached the Dewford Gym and I took a deep breath before walking in, my friends behind me and Sparky on my shoulder.

It was pitch black and we couldn't see a thing. "Not this again!" I growled. "We had to go through this in the damn cave!"

Suddenly, the lights came on, nearly blinding me. I was already standing in the box of a battlefield and I looked up to see a guy leaning his back against the wall on the other side of the gym. He had blue hair, blue eyes, an orange shirt with white at the color and at the ends of the short-ish sleeves, a black undershirt with sleeves that were a little longer than his over shirt. He had blue pants that ended just under his knees and dark brown shoes with orange stripes and white at the bottom.

"Who are you people?" the guy asked. "Is one of you here for a Gym Badge?"

I stepped forward, I gained my confidence from battling Roxanne. "My name is Skye Cassidy from Littleroot Town and I'm here to challenge the Gym Leader, Brawly."

The guy left the wall and stepped forward. "That would be me. So, you're here for a Knuckle Badge."

"That's right," I nodded.

He smiled. "Sweet. Battling a pretty girl is going to be fun. But just because you're beautiful doesn't mean I'll go easy on you."

My cheeks were going red, I was sure of it. Such a compliment from a Gym Leader was just a little overwhelming.

Ash laughed a little trying to suppress a growl. "Come on, Sara, let's go sit and watch this battle." They went up to where there was seats for a whole audience to watch and they sat in the front row, letting all their Pokemon out to watch. Sparky joined them.

Brawly pulled out a phone and dialed a number, putting it to his ear. "Yeah, ref. We need you down at the battlefield... Yeah, this one's a beauty..... Sure thing... Hurry up."

Brawly hung up. "The referee will be here shortly."

"Okay," I murmured.

"So, which Type of Pokemon do you have?" he asked. "My specialty is Fighting Types."

"I have one Electric Type, one Water Type and two Dark Types," I answered.

"Dark Types won't do well against my Fighting Types," Brawly warned. "You'll do better with your Pikachu or Water Type."

"Well, I think my Pokemon can manage anything put against them," I smiled. "They've all proved that in the Granite Cave."

"You went in there?"

"Yep."

"Were you attacked?"

"Yep."

"How did you get out?"

I held up a Pokeball. "Absol."

Brawly smirked. "You were lucky to catch it. But not even Absol has a chance, I'm afraid."

"We'll see about that."

"Sorry, I'm a bit late!"

I turned my head and saw the referee, or at least, who the referee was supposed to be. He was a teenager, just like Brawly, at least 16. Brawly looked 15. A bit young to be a Gym Leader, but I couldn't question that.

The guy had orange/brown hair, a black hooded jacket with fur on the hood, brown eyes, an orange shirt, gray jeans and a dog tag necklace.

He looked at me. "Oh, are you the challenger?"

I nodded.

"Wow," he murmured to Brawly. "She's a gem."

Brawly nodded. "But we have a battle to perform, Justin. So if you could please be the referee."

"Of course," he smiled and stood on the sidelines in the middle.

"What are the rules?" I asked.

"This will be a one-on-one battle," he announced. "The winner will be decided once one side can no longer battle."

I nodded my acceptance. I knew which Pokemon I was going to choose, I just hoped it was a good choice.

"Gym Leader, you will choose your first Pokemon," Justin said.

Brawly smiled and grabbed a Pokeball. He threw it into the air. "Machop! Time to work!"

I saw a gray Pokemon standing on two legs appear.

"Machop.." I murmured and took out my Pokedex.

"Machop," it said. "The Superpower Pokemon. It studies martial arts all day long and exercises by lifting Graveler."

"That's one strong Pokemon," I took a deep breath and took out a Pokeball. I threw it. "Poochyena, let's go!"

Poochyena appeared and Brawly blinked at it. "It's tiny," he said at last.

I rolled my eyes. "I get that from everybody. But it's powerful."

"You think that thing can beat my Machop?" Brawly muttered. "It's a shrimp."

Poochyena growled and its tail bristled.

"Make sure you don't insult Poochyena too much. It bit someone last time that happened."

Brawly shrugged. "You can still switch Pokemon before the battle starts."

I shook my head. "Poochyena is my choice."

Brawly took a deep breath. "Alright. Don't blame me when you lose."

Justin was just as shocked as Brawly. "Um.. okay... Battle can begin."

"You can have the first move," Brawly said. "Ladies always go first, pretty ones at that."

I sighed. "Alright, Poochyena, let's try a Shadow Ball!"

Brawly's eyes widened when he saw Poochyena opened its mouth. A huge black sphere formed, five times bigger than Poochyena and it shot out at Machop.

"Machop, use Karate Chop to break it!" Brawly ordered.

Machop threw its arm forward and the Shadow Ball was cut in half.

"No way!" I exclaimed.

"Machop, use Low Kick!" Brawly called and Machop came at Poochyena.

"Poochyena, dodge it!" I ordered and Poochyena was quick enough to move out of the way in time, but Machop grabbed Poochyena by the back leg and kicked it.

"Pooch!" Poochyena yelped.

"Seismic Toss!" Brawly commanded.

Machop pulled Poochyena closed and grabbed it properly before jumping into the air.

"Poochyena!" Sara called.

Machop turned upside down, holding Poochyena like a hug, its head facing the ground.

"Poochyena, use Bite!" I called and Poochyena bit down on Machop's arm, making it flinch, but Machop started spinning and the two Pokemon came towards the ground.

"Poochyena!" I nearly screamed as Machop let go of Poochyena last minute and Poochyena went head-first into the ground. Smoke rose up everywhere and when it was gone, I saw Poochyena in a small ditch made from the impact. "Poochyena! Are you alright!?" I asked nervously.

Poochyena struggled to its feet. "Pooch!" it growled.

"Alright, Poochyena!" I said. "Use Quick Attack!"

Poochyena jumped out of the ditch and ran at Machop, moving very fast, with a white path trailing behind it.

"Machop, use Protect!" Brawly said and Machop braced itself.

Poochyena jumped up to headbutt Machop, but a green barrier surrounded the Fighting Type Pokemon and Poochyena was thrown back.

"What attack was that!?" I exclaimed.

"Protect," Brawly answered. "The Pokemon using it takes no damage, but the Pokemon attacking takes it all."

"Poochyena!" I looked over to where it was, struggling to its feet, shaking.

"You can do it, Poochyena!" Sara called.

I growled. "Poochyena, Shadow Ball!"

Poochyena made a huge black sphere appear and it shot towards Machop.

"Machop, dodge it!" Brawly ordered but Machop was hit. Brawly growled. "Alright, let's finish this. Machop, use Dynamicpunch!"

"Crap!" I muttered. "Poochyena, dodge it!"

Poochyena was about to jump out of the way, but the smoke that came after the Shadow Ball impact made it unsure of which way was right to go. Before I knew it, Machop jumped out of the smoke with a white glowing fist and hit Poochyena head on.

Poochyena was thrown back and I stepped onto the battlefield to catch it before it hit the ground. "That's it!" I called. "I forfeit!"

Brawly looked at me, crouched down on the ground, looking at Poochyena with worried eyes. "Alright. Machop, return." His Machop went back into its Pokeball and Brawly walked over to me.

"So, the winner is the Gym Leader, Brawly," Justin announced.

"Oh, Poochyena. I'm so sorry," I whispered and Poochyena blinked up at me.

"Pooch!" it licked my cheek.

"That was some great battling," I looked up at Brawly and he crouched beside me. He patted Poochyena on the head. "Such a small Pokemon has a lot of power to make up for it."

I sighed. "Too bad it wasn't strong enough. Unless that's just my fault...."

"A Pokemon is only as strong as the Trainer," Brawly told me. "The important thing is that you don't give up."

I looked back to Poochyena. "I know.."

"Train Poochyena a little bit more and we'll battle again," Brawly smiled.

I nodded blankly.

Brawly stood up and so did I. "So, is there anyone else here to challenge me?"

"I am," Ash stood up and ran over. Ash stood in front of Brawly and me. "Skye, that was a great battle."

"Thanks, Ash," I sighed. "Good luck with your battle." I walked over to join Sara with Poochyena still in my arms.

"I'm sure my Pikachu can take on your Machop," Ash smiled.

"Oh, you won't be battling Machop," Brawly smiled and held up a Pokeball. "You're battling Makuhita."

"Maku-what?" Ash asked.

"You'll see," Brawly went back to his position, Ash went and stood in the box that I did.

I sat down beside Sara, putting Poochyena on my lap.

"Great battle," Sara smiled.

"Thanks," I murmured. Sparky jumped on my shoulder.

"The rules will be the same as before," Justin announced. "One-on-one, the match will be decided when either Pokemon can no longer battle."

"Got it," Ash said. "Pikachu, you're up."

Pikachu ran ahead and onto the battlefield.

"Makuhita! Time to work!" Brawly called and a yellow Pokemon standing on two legs appeared. It had black hands that looked like punching gloves, pink circles on its cheeks, a black collar-like thing and something on its head that looked like a bow.

"Battle begin!" Justin announced.

Brawly waited for Ash to make his first move.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu shot out a Thunderbolt and it hit Makuhita directly, making it fall over. But then it got back up again.

Sara pulled out her Pokedex. "Makuhita," it said. "The Guts Pokemon. If Makuhita gets knocked down, it gets back up. Everytime it gets back up, it is storing energy to evolve. Makuhita eats a lot, gets plenty of sleep and trains all the time which helps it to evolve."

"Cool, Ash has a tough challenge," Sara smiled.

I watched as Pikachu ran at Makuhita and used Iron Tail on it. Makuhita fell down and got back up, but Pikachu hit it with another Thunderbolt.

"Now, use Bolt Tackle!" Ash called.

"Makuhita, dodge it!" Brawly called.

Pikachu ran at Makuhita, electricity surrounding it. "Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika!" it said quickly as it ran. Then it hit Makuhita. "Pik-A!"

There was an explosion and Makuhita was out.

"That was quick," Sara muttered.

Brawly returned his Pokemon.

"Looks like Ash the challenger wins!" Justin announced. "He has earned the Knuckle Badge!"

I sighed and returned Poochyena into its Pokeball. Sara returned her Pokemon and her and Ash's Pokemon ran over to congratulate him, I followed slowly.

"That was awesome!" Sara smiled as Ash returned all his Pokemon.

Brawly walked over and handed Ash the badge he earned for defeating him.

"Cool!" Ash smiled.

"You deserve it," Brawly smiled back.

After a while, Ash, Sara and I were heading back to the Pokemon Center, I was walking slower than normal.

Ash and Sara stopped. "Are you okay, Skye?" Sara asked, as they turned around to look at me.

I looked up. "Yeah. I'm okay."

"You don't seem okay," Sara murmured.

"You're upset because Poochyena lost, right?" Ash asked and I nodded. "Don't worry about it. You just need to try again."

I sighed. "I'll meet up with you guys later. I'm going for a walk."

Ash, Pikachu and Sara watched as I turned and walked a different way. They sighed and went back to the Pokemon Center.

"What do we do?" Sara asked Ash.

"Let her settle down," Ash shrugged. "It's her first lose, she needs to get over it in her own time. We can't do anything."

Sara mumbled something.


	9. Brawly

I was far away from Dewford and I found myself walking on the beach. Sparky was silent as it sat on my shoulder, not making a sound.

"Woo hoo!"

I looked up and saw a huge wave, a guy was on one surfboard, and a Pokemon was on the other.

"Pika, Pi," Sparky said and I recognized them, it was Brawly and Makuhita.

I looked to my right, the Gym wasn't far off, I could just see it in the distance.

"Skye, hey!"

I turned and looked at Brawly, back on land. He carried his green surfboard under his arm and I finally noticed he wore nothing but red board shorts. Makuhita sat down with its red surfboard.

I walked over to them and Brawly noticed my sad expression. "Still not upset about losing, are you?" he asked me.

I sighed. "That easy to tell, huh?"

Brawly nodded and sat down. "Sit," he said simply and I sat next to him. "Roxanne called me yesterday, told me you'd be coming. So it was no surprise to me when you said your name was Skye."

"She told you?" I echoed.

"Yep. She said you were a tough Trainer. Maybe even better than Ash," Brawly looked at me. "But that was with your Pikachu. After that display, your Poochyena needs a lot more training."

I let my head hang.

"That's not something to be ashamed of," he laughed. "When I first began my Pokemon Journey, I was hopeless. Never won a single battle. Lost to Roxanne more than five times, trying to get a Stone Badge."

I looked back up at him. "More than five times?"

"Yep. But the most important thing is, that you never give up. If your Pokemon are weak, you need to put a little more effort into training them."

"I try as hard as I can," I sighed. "I don't know how much more effort I can put into their training."

"Do you play with your Pokemon?"

"Play with my Pokemon?" I echoed. "What do you mean?"

"Trainers use their Pokemon for battles, but most of them like to spend proper time with them. It strengthens the bond between them," Brawly looked at me. "I take walks on the beach with Machop, and I go surfing with Makuhita. I spend time with them every day so they don't think I only want them for battling."

"Is that why they're so powerful?" I asked.

"Makuhita isn't the most powerful Pokemon in the world," Brawly laughed. "But I still train it and hang out with it. And as for Machop, yes, that's why it's so strong."

"So, how do I make Poochyena stronger?" I asked. "I don't know what it likes to do, and I don't stay in one place too long now that I'm on a Pokemon Journey."

"Ever surfed?"

"No. Never."

Brawly thought for a moment. "Come with me, to my house. You can borrow some of my sister's clothes and I'll teach you. Poochyena and your Pikachu can try it too."

I smiled. "Alright. How does that sound, Sparky?"

"Pika-chu!" Sparky grinned.

Brawly stood up and helped me up. "Come on, Makuhita. We're going home."

Makuhita jumped up and came with us, remembering to take its surfboard.

Brawly picked up his surfboard and I walked with him to his house, Sparky looked excited.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"I wonder how Skye is," Sara sighed, lying down on her bed, looking up at the roof.

"She's fine, I bet," Ash replied, getting a drink out of the tiny fridge and sitting down at the table.

"I should go look for her," Sara muttered.

"This is all because of this Prophecy thing, isn't it? That's why you don't want Skye going off on her own?"

Sara sat up and looked at Ash from the top of her bunk bed. "So what if it is."

Ash rolled his eyes. "It's not Skye!"

"Open your eyes, Ash! Didn't you hear the way she spoke to her mother after Mrs. Cassidy got mad at her for going into the Granite Cave!?"

"I did."

"Then why can't you think that Skye can possibly be the one in the prophecy-"

"How do we know that's even a true prophecy?" Ash asked. "How do we know if it's ever going to happen while we're around? What if it happens in the next one hundred years? Will you think it's our Skye then?"

Sara crossed her arms. "I know it's our Skye. It has to be." She lied down again, looking at the ceiling. "I hope she's okay."

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Here, this should fit."

Brawly handed me a pair of board shorts and a bikini-thing. He left the room and went to wait downstairs while I tried them on. Sparky had stayed downstairs, looking around the house with Makuhita as a guide.

I changed into the clothes Brawly gave me and they fitted perfectly. I shoved my other clothes in my bag, right down the bottom and I zipped it back up, putting it over my shoulders, before going back downstairs.

Brawly looked up and smiled. "You look good."

I knew my cheeks were red. "Thanks. Where is everybody anyway? Where's your parents? And your sister?"

Brawly looked at the floor. "My parents and my sister passed away."

My eyes widened. "Oh crap! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

Brawly put a hand over my mouth to make me quiet, he had a smile on his face. "Don't worry about it. How were you supposed to know?"

I shrugged.

He took his hand away. "Makuhita, come on!"

Makuhita and Sparky appeared from a random room, Sparky had something on its head, a basket.

"Sparky, what did you do?" I asked, crouching down and taking the basket off. Something fell to the ground and I put the basket down, picking up the necklace.

"Pika," Sparky looked guilty.

"This is a pretty necklace," I said and stood up again. It was a black necklace with three teeth on it, one big one half the size of my palm and the other two were smaller, on either side of the first one.

"Yeah," Brawly laughed and I gave it to him. "I lost it a few weeks ago." He thought for a moment. "I wanna see what this looks like on you," he finally said.

I was a little stunned as he stood behind me and put the necklace over my head and around my neck. He stood in front of me again and nodded with a smile. "You can keep the necklace."

I looked down at it and then back up at Brawly. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Positive."

"Thank you," my cheeks went red again, I was sure. This was a Gym Leader I was hanging out with, a Gym Leader I needed to train to beat.

"No problem," he smiled. "Now let's go."

I followed Brawly out of the house and back towards the beach with Sparky up on my shoulder.

We got back to the beach and took out Poochyena's Pokeball. "Come on out, Poochyena!"

Poochyena looked up at me with a smile and wagged its tail. "Poochyena, feel like surfing?"

Poochyena looked up at Brawly and growled.

"Chill out, Poochyena," Brawly smiled. "This isn't a battle. We're just having a bit of fun."

"So, you wanna go surfing or not?" I asked again.

Poochyena looked at the water and nodded.

I let Buizel and Absol out of their Pokeballs too. Brawly was surprised that I _had_ actually caught Absol, but he didn't question it.

"Having an Absol is proof of how great a Trainer you are," Brawly smiled.

"Thanks," I smiled.

"Come on, Poochyena. "Jump on the board and I'll take you surfing."

Poochyena looked at me and I nodded before it ran into the water after Brawly, jumping at the front of the surfboard. I watched as Brawly paddled over to an upcoming wave, a fairly big one and he turned the board around.

As the wave took him up, he stood up on the board, controlling his balance well. Poochyena was lying down, scared that it would fall. But after a while, it stood up properly and appreciated the breeze.

I watched Brawly surf with Poochyena on the board for a little while, but then Poochyena wanted to look at the back of the board and Brawly lost his balance, falling into the water with Poochyena.

I was about to go in and see if they were okay, but Brawly came back to shore with his board, and Poochyena.

I ran over to them. "You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," Brawly laughed. "Poochyena just got over excited."

"Pooch.." Poochyena hung its head and Brawly patted it.

"No need to worry little buddy," he said. "It wasn't your fault."

"Pooch!" Poochyena smiled and jumped to the ground, shaking the water off of its coat.

"Time to teach you how to surf," Brawly turned to me and I took a step back.

"Uh..." I was suddenly unsure.

"Come on," Brawly smiled. "It's fun. Makuhita! I need to borrow your board!"

Makuhita came over and handed me the red surfboard before running back to play with Absol and Buizel. Poochyena went to join them.

I looked down at Sparky. "Maybe it would be best if you went with Brawly until I get the hang of it," I suggested.

Sparky nodded and jumped up on Brawly's shoulder.

"Sparky is very friendly," Brawly pointed out.

I nodded. "It likes anybody that I'm friends with."

Brawly smiled. "Now, before you get out onto the water. When you reach a wave, turn the board around. Then stand up when it begins to take you and keep your balance even, otherwise you'll fall in."

"The turning around and standing up seems easy," I sighed. "But the balance....... I don't think I'll manage it."

"You'll do fine," Brawly encouraged me. "I'll go out onto the water with you."

I nodded. "Okay."

We went out onto the water and we lied down on the boards, paddling out to sea. I saw a wave coming and we both turned around.

"Get ready," Brawly laughed. Sparky jumped to the front of the board, preparing itself in case it fell off.

The wave started to lift the boards and we stood up. Brawly had no troubles keeping his balance, but the wave was pushing and pulling the board and I lost my balance as soon as I stood up, falling forward into the water.

I came back up, climbing back onto the board and Brawly came back, stopping in front of me. "Nice try," he laughed. "That was pretty funny though."

"How are you supposed to keep your balance on this thing!?" I complained.

"It's not easy," he sighed. "You have to keep perfect balance. Left and right, forward and backwards. The wave pushes you forward, and it also pulls you back. You need to be able to control it."

I took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll try again."

I tried again and again and again and again and again, but I kept falling off the board. Sparky still sat on the board with Brawly, having a lot of fun. Buizel came into the water and helped me find the board everytime I fell off. Absol and Makuhita were having fun on the shore.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Looks like the new twerp is hanging out with the Gym Leader. I think he likes her."

"Yeah, wonder where the other twerps are."

"Jessie, James, what are we doing here?"

"Meowth, we're here to try and get Pikachu," Jessie said.

"But this twerp has an Absol," James said, looking at his friends with the binoculars in his hands. "Absol is a very rare Pokemon that chooses its Trainer if they think they're worthy."

"Then Absol sounds like a prize!" Jessie smiled. "Let's catch it and give it to the boss!"

"Good idea!" Meowth said. "And let's snatch the Gym Leader's Pokemon too!"

"Okay!"

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"I still can't get it right!" I complained.

"You managed to stay on for a few seconds this time," Brawly said.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I managed to stay on!" I lied back on the board, looking up at the sky. "I'll never get it!"

"Yeah you will," Brawly came up beside me. Sparky put its front paws in the water and splashed me.

I sat up quickly. "Hey! Not fair!" I yelped and splashed Sparky back.

Brawly laughed as Sparky shook the water from it and started tickling me. I cracked up laughing. "No! Cut it out! That's not fair!" I laughed out as Sparky kept splashing me.

I finally managed to stop laughing long enough to push Brawly off his board. Sparky was hit with the water from the big splash. "Pika!" it complained.

I was beginning to think Brawly would never come back up, but then something grabbed my leg and pulled me off the board. I went into the water and both me and Brawly resurfaced.

We all started laughing and we decided to go back to the shore. I was drenched, and so was Brawly. Sparky, not so much.

Buizel came after us and I had an idea. "Buizel, use Water Gun!" I shouted and me and Sparky jumped out of the way. Brawly turned around but was hit with a Water Gun attack.

"Now that was not fair!" Brawly laughed.

"Hey, you tickled me and pulled me off the board!" I smirked.

Brawly shrugged, but all of a sudden, Absol called out, and so did Makuhita.

Brawly and I looked up and saw an air balloon that looked like a Meowth head. Two people were in the basket with a Pokemon. Absol and Makuhita were in a net underneath the basket.

"Absol!"

"Makuhita!"

"Hahahaha!" I heard laughing from the people and I growled.

"Team Rocket!" I said.

"Who are they?" Brawly asked. "What are they doing?"

"That's Team Rocket," I replied. "And as for what they're doing. They're asking to get smashed!"

"Listen, is that a voice I hear?" Jessie smiled.

"It's speaking to me loud and clear," James continued.

"On the wind!"

"Past the stars!"

"In your ear!" Meowth spoke up.

"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace," Jessie smiled.

"Dashing hope, putting fear in its place!" James continued.

"A rose by any other name's just as sweet."

"When everything's worse, our work is complete."

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Meowth, now that's a name!" Meowth cut in again.

"Putting the do-gooders in their place!" Jessie said.

"We're Team Rocket!" James added.

"In your face!" all three of them said.

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet appeared behind them.

"We don't care about some stupid motto of yours!" I growled. "Give Absol and Makuhita back!"

"No can do!" Meowth said. "They are presents for the boss!"

"Oh no they're not!" I said. "Sparky, use Thunderbolt!"

Sparky nodded. "Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" it said and fired electricity at Team Rocket, hitting them directly.

"Well if that's how you want to play," Jessie growled. "Dustox, use Poisonpowder!" she threw a Pokeball and a Dustox appeared. It flew over us and flapped its wings, purple sparkles coming down at us.

"Buizel, use Water Gun!" I ordered.

"Bui, Bui!" Buizel said and shot water at the purple sparkles, making them disappear before they got to us.

Brawly just stood beside me, he had no Pokemon to battle with because he had left Machop at the Gym with Justin.

"Poochyena, use Shadow Ball on Dustox!" I ordered.

Poochyena ran in front of me and opened its mouth, making a black sphere appear.

"Not that attack!" Meowth growled as Poochyena shot it and it hit Dustox, making it land in the air balloon basket.

"Buizel, use Sonicboom!" I said.

"Bui!" it said and jumped up, spinning. It fired three Sonicbooms, once every time it spun. One hit the balloon itself, the others hit the net and the two Pokemon fell.

They got to the ground and the net came off of them. They ran back over to us.

Team Rocket's balloon came to the ground and they jumped out of the basket. "Give us back those Pokemon!" James growled.

"We're only taking back what's ours," Brawly said.

"Seviper, go!"

"Cacnea, you too!"

Seviper and Cacnea appeared.

"Seviper, use Poison Tail!" Jessie ordered.

"Cacnea, use Pin Missile!"

"I'll take on Seviper," Brawly told me and I nodded. "Makuhita, use Arm Thrust!"

"Absol, use Razor Wind!" I called.

Makuhita hit Seviper with its fists over and over and over again. Absol swung its head and a shining white blade came off it. Absol swung its head and another shot from the blade on its head.

One diverted Cacnea's attack, the other hit Cacnea directly.

Cacnea fell back onto James and Makuhita threw Seviper onto Jessie using Vital Throw.

"Sparky, finish this with Bolt Tackle!" I called.

Brawly looked at Sparky and watched it run towards Team Rocket really fast. "Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sparky said as it ran.

"Oh no!" Jessie exclaimed.

"Not that attack!" James added.

"Now this twerp's Pikachu can use Bolt Tackle too!" Meowth complained.

"This isn't good!" James yelled.

"Poochyena, use Shadow Ball!" I said and Poochyena fired a huge black sphere, keeping up with Sparky.

"Pik-A!" Sparky said as it crashed into them. There was an explosion as the two attacks collided with Team Rocket and they flew up into the air.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they yelled as them and their Pokemon flew high into the sky and disappeared.

I sighed. "I really don't like them."

"That was some pretty impressive battling," Brawly said. "When you finally beat me in a battle, I should warn all the Gym Leaders."

I smiled. "Well, the first one you should call is the Petalburg Gym Leader. I'm sure my brother Jake would like to hear that I'm catching up to him."

"I didn't know Jake was your brother," Brawly smiled.

I nodded.

"Well, after you leave Dewford, I'll have to tell Jake all about how this beautiful Trainer defeated me, and then tell him it was you."

I laughed, though my cheeks went red again.

"Think he'd get mad at me for saying that?" Brawly smirked.

I shrugged. "I haven't seen him for two years and a few days isn't enough to get to know him again. He might, you never know."

Brawly winked. "I'll give it a try anyway."

"Hey, Skye, Brawly!"

We turned and looked at Sara and Ash running over. "Was that Team Rocket blasting off?" Sara asked.

I nodded. "They tried to take Makuhita and Absol."

Sara and Ash both blinked at me and the Gym Leader, we were both soaking wet and wearing swimmers.

"Before you say anything," Brawly said. "I was trying to teach her how to surf and have fun with her Pokemon."

They both nodded blankly and I glanced at Ash, looking away quickly.

"Can we join in?" Sara asked. "I was planning on dragging Ash over here anyway."

"Yeah, sure," Brawly smiled. "Hey, Skye, why don't you show these two how well you surf?"

I turned to him with a glare. "You just want me to fall off again, don't you?"

"Yep."

"Buizel!" I yelled in complaint.

Buizel turned to Brawly and Brawly was nervous.

"Use Water Gun!" I called.

Buizel shot a Water Gun at Brawly, but he grabbed me and pulled me in front of him, making us both get hit.

"Bui!" Buizel stopped and ran over to where Brawly and I had fallen over.

I sat up and so did he. "That was a cheap shot!" I growled.

"That's for pushing me off the board!" Brawly smirked.

Sara smiled and went behind a tree, quickly changing into her swimmers that she had under her clothes and she came back in a blue bikini top and black board shorts. Ash did the same, he came back wearing red blue board shorts.

The four of us went into the water and started splashing each other. The other Pokemon jumped in after us, Poochyena finally understood the meaning of doggy-paddle.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach having fun, and I actually wished that Brawly would come with us on our Journey.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"So, are you ready to try again?"

"You bet," I smiled as I stepped into the box.

"Alright, Machop! Time to work!" Brawly threw a Pokeball and Machop appeared.

"Poochyena, let's go!" I said and Poochyena came out of the Pokeball that I threw.

"You sure you want to go with Poochyena again?" Brawly asked.

I nodded. "Poochyena is stronger now, I can tell."

Brawly smiled and nodded.

Justin blinked at Poochyena again. "Okay, the rules are exactly the same as last time."

Brawly and I nodded.

"Battle begin!"

"Poochyena, use Quick Attack!" I ordered.

"Machop, intercept it with Cross Chop!" Brawly called.

Poochyena ran at Machop extremely fast, Machop's arms glowed white.

"Dodge it, Poochyena and then use Bite!" I commanded.

Poochyena jumped out of the way just as Machop threw its arms down and crossed them. Then Poochyena jumped at Machop and bit down on its left arm.

"Machop?" it said, but then felt the pain. "MACHOP!" it cried, trying to shake it off.

"Machop, use Seismic Toss!" Brawly called.

Machop pulled Poochyena into a hug-like hold, stomach to stomach and jumped into the air. It started coming down again and I waited.

A few more seconds. "Poochyena! Use Shadow Ball!"

Brawly flinched as he watched Poochyena opened its mouth and a black sphere appeared.

I smiled as Poochyena fired it and Machop was forced to let go and was thrown away. Poochyena landed on its feet and Machop hit the ground hard.

"Agility!" I called and Poochyena ran at Machop, running circles around it. Machop got up but was getting dizzy trying to keep track of Poochyena.

"She's using speed to beat Brawly," Ash murmured.

"Yeah, because Machop isn't a fast moving Pokemon," Sara agreed. "So using fast attacks like Quick Attack and Agility are bound to help her win."

"Now use Take Down!" I commanded.

Poochyena jumped at Machop, hitting it with its shoulder and making Machop fly towards Brawly.

It hit the ground and I smiled. "Better than last time, eh?" I said.

"Much better," Brawly smiled in return. "You were right, Poochyena is stronger than yesterday."

I nodded. "I told you."

Brawly shrugged. "You still have to beat me."

"I will. Poochyena, use Quick Attack!"

"That won't work a second time!" Brawly smiled. "Machop, use Cross Chop!"

I smirked. "Poochyena, jump it!" I yelled.

"What!?" Brawly was stunned with confusement.

Instead of dodging to the side, Poochyena jumped over the attack Machop used.

"Shadow Ball!" I commanded.

Machop looked up and Poochyena fired a black sphere down at it.

"Machop, cut through it with Karate Chop!" Brawly said.

Machop threw its arm forward and the Shadow Ball was cut in two, then disappeared.

"Use Bite!"

Poochyena landed on Machop and bit down on its arm.

"Machop, Low Kick!"

Machop hit Poochyena with a kick that would have hurt a lot.

I growled. "Poochyena, Sand-Attack!"

Poochyena still held onto Machop's arm, but used its front paws to kick sand up into its eyes. Machop used its other arm to try and wipe it away.

"Machop, use Karate Chop!" Brawly said.

Machop blindly swung an arm forward, hitting Poochyena and making it let go.

Poochyena hit the ground. "Poochyena, Take Down!"

Poochyena ran forward with incredible speed.

"Protect!" Brawly ordered.

Machop was about to use Protect, but Poochyena slammed into it, throwing it back.

"Machop, use Karate Chop!" Brawly said, but Machop was still trying to get the dirt out of its eyes.

"Poochyena, use Quick Attack!" I ordered.

Poochyena ran at Machop again, light shining behind it. I watched as my tiny Pokemon ran to the other side of the battlefield. My left hand found its way to the necklace Brawly gave me and I held onto it. At the last second I changed the plan. "Poochyena, Agility!"

Poochyena caught on quickly and started running rings around Machop, sometimes quickly turning and going the other way.

"Machop, use Karate Chop in the path Poochyena's taking!" Brawly commanded.

"Poochyena might be strong," Sara muttered. "But Skye shouldn't forget she's battling a Gym Leader."

"Yeah, he didn't become a Gym Leader for nothing," Ash sighed. "But still, he is only 15/16."

"Really!?" Sara exclaimed. "I didn't notice that. Come to think of it, you're right!"

Machop swung its arm down in Poochyena's path and Poochyena ran into it, falling back.

"Use Karate Chop again!" Brawly said.

Machop slammed its arm down on Poochyena again and again and again.

I growled, increasing my grip on the necklace. "Poochyena, use Sand-Attack!"

Poochyena dug up dirt with its paws and flung it up at Machop, but the Fighting Type Pokemon closed its eyes.

"Shadow Ball, now!" I called.

When Machop opened its eyes, Poochyena fired a Shadow Ball at it, hitting it and making an explosion.

Machop staggered back, trying to quickly recover from the close hit.

"Poochyena, use Tackle!" I called.

Machop looked around, smoke was everywhere and it couldn't see where Poochyena was. Then the tiny Pokemon jumped out from behind Machop and slammed its head into its back.

Machop fell forward and Poochyena held it down.

"Machop, use Cross Chop!" Brawly called.

Machop swung its arms up, but Poochyena jumped into the air.

"Use Shadow Ball!" I called. _This should finish it_, I thought. _Machop is pretty beaten up_.

Poochyena made a black sphere appear and it let it go. The Shadow Ball flew down at Machop and there was another explosion.

"Machop!" Brawly called.

The smoke cleared and I saw Poochyena sniffing a knocked out Machop.

"Machop is unable to battle!" Justin announced. "Poochyena is the winner!"

Brawly smiled and held up a Pokeball. "Return, Machop."

Machop went back inside the Pokeball and Poochyena ran over to me. I picked up my little Pokemon and held it in the air. "That was great, Poochyena!" I smiled. "You're definitely getting stronger!"

"Pooch!" Poochyena smiled.

Brawly walked over to me and Poochyena with a smile. "That was an amazing battle," he said and reached into his pocket, taking something out. "You have finally earned the Knuckle Badge."

I looked at the badge, it looked like a punching glove, blue with a red circle where the thumb would be. I took it. "Thanks," I smiled.

"Skye, that was awesome!" I turned and saw Ash, Sara, Sparky and Pikachu running over to congratulate me.

I nodded my thanks.

"I guess I should call Jake and tell him," Brawly smiled and winked at me.

I laughed. "If you tell him what you said you would, he most likely will get mad."

Brawly shrugged.

"We should get going," Sara smiled. "We leave with Mr. Briney to Slateport City this afternoon."

I nodded and turned back to Brawly. "Thanks for everything, Brawly. You really taught me a lot. Surfing I just couldn't learn."

Brawly laughed and smiled. "It's was good knowing you. You really are a strong Trainer. Good luck in all your other Gym battles."

I nodded and we shook hands before I turned and followed my friends out of the Gym and back towards the Pokemon Center.

Justin walked over to Brawly. "You okay, man?"

"She really was a gem," Brawly sighed.

"You don't have to stay here," Justin explained. "You know that I could take over the Gym."

"I know," Brawly smiled.


	10. Sugar Rush

"Good bye, Steven! We'll see you again one day!"

"Yeah, that would be great. Bye guys!"

Ash, Sara and I walked from the Pokemon Center to the dock where Mr. Briney was waiting to take us to Slateport City.

"Ahoy," Mr. Briney smiled. "All set?"

I sighed. "Yep. We're ready to go."

"Well hop aboard and let's be off," Mr. Briney went to the top of his boat where he could control it. We were about to get on but I stopped when I heard someone calling for us. I turned around and saw Brawly and Justin running over, Brawly had a bag on his back.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked.

Brawly hesitated. "I got bored being the Gym Leader so I decided to start traveling around again. I was thinking, if you'd have me, that I could tag along with you guys."

"But, who'd take over the Gym?" Sara asked, but she had a smirk on her face.

"I will," Justin smiled.

Ash nodded. "That seems fair. Sure, of course you can come, Brawly."

"Yeah, you're fully welcome too," Sara said.

Brawly smiled and turned to Justin, shaking his hand. "It was good knowing ya, man."

"Likewise," Justin replied. "Good luck."

"Well, come on, let's go," I said and we got on the boat, Brawly included.

"Bye, Justin!" I called as Mr. Briney started the boat and we were leaving the dock. "Good luck at the Gym."

"Thanks!" Justin called back.

"See ya, bro!" Brawly said.

The boat passed the place where Brawly tried teaching me to surf, and failed. Brawly was watching it, the waves crashing to the shore.

I walked over to him and sat down beside him. "You're going to miss the beach, aren't you?" I asked quietly.

He nodded and sighed. "But a change will be good. Besides, I get to be with you."

I smiled, my cheeks going red again.

"Aw man, not another one!" Ash grumbled.

"Another what?" Sara asked, following Ash's gaze over to me and Brawly. "You mean another guy that likes Skye?"

Ash nodded and sighed. "Oh well."

Sara smirked and cocked an eyebrow at him. "You like her."

"So what if I-" Ash stopped and looked at Sara's expression, which pretty much said 'You can't lie to me'.

Ash sighed and nodded. "Okay, so what if I do."

"I thought so," Sara smiled. "Why don't I just go over there and tell her. I'm sure that you and Brawly will think of each other as competition rather than friends." Sara started walking over to me and Brawly, but Ash grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Don't tell her!" he grumbled. "She'll hate me."

"She won't hate you," Sara waved a hand at him. "Just Brawly will."

"That makes me feel better," Ash said sarcastically. "Just don't tell her."

Sara whined. "But, but, but-"

"NO!"

"What are you two arguing about now!?" I called and Ash and Sara looked at me and Brawly.

"Oh nothing much, just that Ash-"

Ash slapped a hand over her mouth. "Don't you dare!"

"Don't treat her like that, Ash!" I said and walked over, taking his hand away from Sara's mouth. "Sara, come over here and tell me."

Sara looked at Ash with a smirk, he glared back at her. "Okay!" Sara pushed me away from Ash. Brawly was blinking blankly, wondering if this was a normal thing for our group.

"Well, what is it?" I asked.

"Okay, Ash didn't want me to tell you this, but I want to tell you!" Sara smiled. "Ash likes-"

"Sara!" Ash growled.

"Ash likes what? Kentucky Fried Chicken? Tell me!!!!!!!!"

"Yes, he likes that too, but Ash has a crush on you!"

I was pretty sure my heart stopped. "Okay, I didn't need to know that."

Sara looked over her shoulder, Ash sighed. "Sara..."

"Ohhhhh crap!" Sara said and hid behind me. "He's gonna kill me!"

I looked over my shoulder at Sara. "Are you sure hiding behind me is gonna work?"

"No....." Sara smirked and ran over to Brawly, making him stand up and she hid behind him. "That's better. Ash won't hurt Brawly."

"At least he knows he won't have a chance to hurt me," Brawly said. "He's a shrimp."

"He's younger than you too," Sara pointed out.

"How old is he?"

"14. How old are _you_?"

"16."

I blinked. _I thought he was 15. And him liking me, that's three years difference_.........

"Okay, then he definitely won't win a fight against you," Sara smiled. "I FOUND A BODYGUARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Too bad Ash, you're out of luck- Oh, Brawly........ how do you like shopping?"

"Not really," Brawly replied, looking over his shoulder at Sara. "Why?"

"Can I drag you around when I wanna go shopping. I need someone to carry all the stuff I get."

"I don't think so," Brawly replied.

Sara crossed her arms. "Some bodyguard you are!"

I nearly cracked up laughing, but my eyes glanced at Ash, he wasn't to happy about Sara spilling the truth.

"I ain't your bodyguard, Sara," Brawly said simply. "If you want a bodyguard, go find someone else."

Sara grumbled and went to sit down, crossing her arms stubbornly. "I need _someone_ to drag around shopping- Ash? How do you like shopping?"

"You're not dragging me around with you," Ash said.

"But..... I NEED A SHOPPING BUDDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"What about that Ursaring teddy you shoved in my face when you woke me up?" I suggested but looked at the glare Sara was giving me.

"OH!" Sara smiled. "Brawly, do you want me to tell you about the time I made Skye wake up an entire city in one night?"

Brawly blinked. "Sure."

"Well-" I ran over to Sara and covered her mouth.

"Tell him and you're swimming with the Sharpedo!"

"It can't be that bad," Brawly smiled. "Let's hear it."

"No!" I muttered. "It's embarrassing!"

Brawly smirked. "Now I really wanna hear it." He walked over to me and Sara and picked me up, taking me away from Sara. "Now, tell me."

"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed in his ear and he put me down, holding me against his chest with one hand and one hand over my mouth.

_I'm not stupid_! I thought. _I have teeth ya know_!

"Brawly, bad idea. You might need the duck tape she has," Ash suggested.

"Go get it," Brawly said.

Ash grabbed it out of my bag and Brawly held my arms while Ash put the duck tape over my mouth. _This sucks_! I thought with a growl.

"Now, can I tell you what happened?" Sara asked with a smile.

"Please do," Brawly smirked, looking down at me and nearly laughing from the glare I gave him.

"Well, she had been hanging out in some cave with Ash and some guy we know as Paul, trying to get some stuff from Team Aqua and Paul had his Ursaring out of the Pokeball. I wasn't there so I don't know how many times she screamed, but Ash said he _and_ Paul had a major headache after it. I came back at midnight with my days worth of shopping and I woke her up, shoving my Ursaring teddy bear in her face and saying 'RAWR'. She screamed _**SO**_ loud, that I'm pretty sure everyone in Rustboro City turned their lights on to see what was going on. Even Nurse Joy came in to check if Skye was okay because she was absolutely terrified of my teddy bear. She had even jumped up, but tripped over and fell onto the floor. It was pretty funny."

Brawly looked down at me, I looked back up at him before glaring at Sara. "I see what you mean by embarrassing," Brawly said and I looked back up at him, glaring at him. I muttered something that was probably better left unsaid. Brawly was trying not to laugh.

I glared at Sara again and she jumped up, hiding behind Ash. Ash looked over his shoulder at her.

"Okay, bad idea," Sara said. "Mr. Briney! Help me!"

Sara dashed up to where Mr. Briney was so she could hide with him.

"Get back here, Sara!" Ash yelled and went up to catch her.

I looked up at Brawly and mumbled something.

"What was that? I didn't understand you," Brawly said.

_That's it_! I growled and put my feet up on the seat, then pushed back, making Brawly, and me, fall over. But at least he let me go and I was able to sit up and take the duck tape off my mouth. "I _tried_ to say, 'let me go or you're toast!" I growled, about to stand up.

Brawly grabbed my arm and pulled me back down, accidentally making me fall on top of him.

We both looked at each other and cracked up laughing.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Yep, that's some competition you have there, Ash," Sara muttered, looking down at me and Brawly. "I think you've already been beaten."

Ash had his back turned to us. "And?"

"Ash," Sara was serious. "I know you like her, but I think Brawly has won her heart already. I mean, look at them!"

Ash looked over his shoulder to see me tackle Brawly back to the ground. "Pika," Pikachu said.

"It's plain to see how close they are after two days of knowing each other," Sara murmured. "But if you still think there's a chance," she looked at him. "I'm positive you'll be wasting your time. When I told her you liked her, which I'm sorry about, she was shocked at first, but she ignored it."

"Paul liked her too," Ash muttered. "At least I'm sure. But she didn't like him."

"And what makes you think she's going to like you?" Sara said sternly. "Ash, if she likes someone else, most likely Brawly, then you need to let it go. You can't get between that, and you can't force her to like you. Give up." She turned and went back to Mr. Briney.

Ash sighed and followed Sara.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"So, what are you going to tell my brother now about me beating you?" I smirked as me and Brawly finally let each other stand up and we went and sat down. Sparky jumped up on my shoulder.

"I think I won't tell him what I was going to tell him," Brawly said. "After all, if I told him face-to-face, I'd be toast."

"I don't think so," I said. "When he met Ash, Sara and our other friend Brock that stayed with Roxanne, Jake told them I knew how to look after myself."

"So, if I did say all that I was going to, he wouldn't care?" Brawly asked.

I shook my head. "I don't think so. He won't just so long as he knows you're taking care of me."

"Which I will," Brawly smiled and he held the necklace I had around my neck. "This necklace looks good on you."

I smiled back. "Thanks. I like it, a lot."

"I thought so," Brawly replied.

"Pika!" Sparky smiled and sat on my lap, looking up at Brawly.

Brawly smiled back at Sparky and patted it on the head. "Hello, Sparky."

"Pika, Pi!" Sparky jumped up on his shoulder, holding onto his head.

"Sparky really does like you," I said.

"Yeah. I'm glad."

I smiled and looked at Brawly, he looked back at me with a smile.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

Sara sighed. "Did she fall asleep, _again_?"

"I guess so," Brawly replied, looking at me asleep on his shoulder.

"Might as well let her sleep," Sara said. "Would you be able to carry her to the Pokemon Center?"

"Sure," Brawly replied and Sara picked up mine and Brawly's bags, as well as her own.

"Come on then," Sara said as Brawly put me on his back.

Ash came down from where Mr. Briney was. "Thanks for the ride, Mr. Briney. We really appreciate you taking us here."

"It was no trouble," Mr. Briney smiled and looked at me. "Asleep again. It might just be the ocean that makes her fall asleep."

Ash shrugged. "Maybe. But come on guys, we have to go."

Sara and Brawly followed Ash across the beach and into Slateport City. My eyes opened when I could feel the bright lights shining down on me. I lifted my head. "Brawly? Why are you carrying me? Where are we?" I asked.

"You fell asleep," Brawly smiled over his shoulder at me. "And we're at Slateport City now."

"Cool," I murmured. "Where's Sparky?"

"Sparky is walking with Pikachu," Brawly replied.

"Okay," I said and my eyes closed again and I rested my head on Brawly's shoulder, my head was next to his and he smiled before turning back to where he was going.

"Did she wake up and fall asleep again?" Sara asked and Brawly nodded. "She must be really tired."

"Well, we were mucking around a fair bit earlier," Brawly replied, remembering how I tackled him off his feet.

"You're very attached to her, aren't you?" Sara was walking right beside Brawly, whispering to make sure Ash didn't hear.

"I like her, a lot," Brawly whispered back, aware of the reason.

"I thought so," Sara sighed. "She seems to like you too. But please, Brawly. Be careful with Ash, he likes her too and it's hard for him to accept you and Skye."

"I understand," Brawly nodded.

We reached the Pokemon Center and got a room to sleep in. Brawly put me down on one of the beds and put the blanket over me. Sparky jumped up and curled up beside my head. Brawly patted Sparky before standing up and going to get a drink from the tiny fridge.

"It's really late," Sara sighed. "I'm getting some sleep. Good night guys."

"Night, Sara," Ash replied and Sara jumped up on the bunk bed, the one above my bed.

"Night," Brawly said and Sara lied down, falling asleep almost instantly.

Only Brawly and Ash were left awake. Ash was sitting down at the table.

"Hey, Ash?" Brawly murmured.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry if it seems I've taken Skye away from you," he said, sitting down at the table with Ash, on the other side.

Ash sighed. _How did I know this was coming_? He thought. "Don't worry about it. She prefers you anyway."

"I know, but before I came along there must have been something between the two of you, right?"

"Probably not," Ash replied, looking up at Brawly. "But there was one night at Rustboro that I thought we'd have something starting."

"Really? What happened?"

"I decided to go for a walk and then Paul said something to her and she left the Pokemon Center without any of her Pokemon to come look for me. She ran into a group of Team Aqua guys and they had started to beat her up, but Pikachu and I got there in time." Pikachu jumped up on the table.

Brawly finished his drink. "What then?"

"She was crouched down on the ground, scared, but then she recognized me and stood up and leaned on me, crying into my jacket and saying she was sorry."

"Sorry about what?"

"Never mind," Ash murmured. "But I hugged her and then lead her back to the Pokemon Center, letting her wear my hat to cheer her up a little. I thought things would spark after that, and it seemed like that for a while, but then...."

"Then I showed up," Brawly sighed. "Sorry man."

"Nah, forget it," Ash smiled. "If she wants to be with you I'll let it go. As long as she's happy it's okay."

"So, we're cool?" Brawly asked.

"Yeah, we're cool," they both stood up and punched fists lightly.

Ash went up to the top bunk on the other side of the room and Brawly took the bottom one. "You still like her, don't you?" Brawly smiled, he had to ask.

"Yeah," Ash replied, also smiling. "That won't change no matter what."

"That's cool," Brawly was satisfied. Both of them fell asleep in minutes.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Skye, wake up! Skye!"

I opened my eyes and saw Sara shaking me, trying to wake me up. "What?" I muttered and rolled onto my side, facing away from her.

Sara grabbed my shoulder and pulled me to my back again. "Get up!" she was whispering.

"Why?" I asked.

"Let's disappear before the boys wake up," Sara smirked. "Make them come looking for us while we scale Slateport City."

I sighed and got up. "Alright. But don't run too fast. I'm still sleepy!"

I woke Sparky up and put my bag on, Sara got hers.

Sparky jumped up on my shoulder. "Let's go," I yawned and we ran out the door. Sara accidentally slammed it on our way out.

"What the heck was that?" I heard Ash mutter.

"Where are Sara and Skye?" I heard Brawly.

"Crap!" Sara exclaimed. "Skye, run for it!"

I was wide awake now and the two of us bolted downstairs. We got out of the Pokemon Center and Sparky jumped on the ground, running beside me as we ran away from the Pokemon Center, to make sure we didn't get caught by Ash and Brawly.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"No idea," Sara replied. "How about the beach?"

"Are you kidding!?" I growled. "I don't feel like freezing to death! It's too cold of a morning to go to the beach!"

"Fine, then where do you suggest-" Sara grabbed my hood and stopped me from running anymore. Sparky stopped and we all turned and looked at the giant store with an 'OPEN' sign on the front door.

"Can we have candy?" Sara asked.

"Why ask me?" I smiled.

"Pika?" Sparky tilted its head.

We walked into the store and came back out with chocolate, lollies, and lots of sugary stuff in a bag. We found a park bench and sat down, eating it, giving some to Sparky, but the little yellow Pokemon didn't like it, except for the chocolate.

When we were finished, I really wanted to run around. I just wanted to run and run and run.

"Let's go run around the rest of Slateport City!" Sara smiled and we got up, starting to run, but we ran into something and fell over.

I looked up and was kinda scared to see who I ran into, literally. "Um.. hi.. Brawly.."

"Hiya, Ash," Sara muttered.

Both of the guys were looking down at us and we got up.

"What are you doing sneaking out at this time?" Brawly asked.

Sara and I exchanged a glance, we wanted to run! "We are now running away from you!" I smirked and Sara poked her tongue out at them before we turned and bolted off, Sparky racing beside us.

"Are they always like this?" Brawly asked Ash.

Ash shook his head. "Not normally-" he spotted the bag and lolly wrappers. "But I think they just hit a sugar rush."

"I don't suppose that's a good thing?"

"Nope. If Skye is anything like Sara, they're both going to be hyper for the whole day."

"We'd better go get them." Ash and Brawly ran after us.

"We'll check the toy store first," Ash suggested.

"Why?" Brawly asked.

"Trust me, it's the first place they'll go."

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Now we need a place to hide!" I said.

"Let's try the toy store!" Sara smiled.

"Okay!" I smiled back.

"Pika, Pi!" Sparky smiled.

We tried to find the toy store, but we ended up not finding it and at the markets where lots of people already were.

We ran through it, but we both ran into someone, falling over.

We looked up, thinking it was Ash and Brawly, but it wasn't.

"Hi, Sara, Skye." It was Gary. "What are you doing running around like idiots?"

"Running from people," Sara replied and we both sat up.  
"People? Ash and Brock?" Gary asked.

"Nope, Ash and Brawly," I replied. "Brock stayed in Rustboro City."

"Brawly?"

"Former Dewford Town Gym Leader," Sara said. "Now help us up!"

"Why should I?" Gary smirked, crossing his arms. "What if I don't?"

Sara and I exchanged a glance, we nodded and both kicked him in the legs, making him fall over. "_**That's**_ what you get because you didn't!" Sara grumbled.

"Sara, Skye. What the heck are you two doing!?"

We looked up and saw Ash and Brawly, upside down. They were standing behind us, their arms crossed. We smiled innocently. "Nothing," I smirked and we stood up. "Um... What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Ash replied.

"Who's that guy?" Brawly asked, looking at Gary.

"Oh, that's just Gary," Sara muttered. "No one special. Just a lazy slob!"

"Thanks," Gary growled.

"Hey, you didn't help us up," Sara shrugged.

"Let's go back to the Pokemon Center," Ash said.

"Why?" Brawly asked.

"Yeah, why?" I asked.

"Because it's too early," Ash rolled his eyes.

"Not for us!" Sara grinned. "We've had sugars!"

"And lot's of it!" I also grinned.

"Speaking of which, we should be running away from you guys," Sara said and backed away.

I thought for a moment and smirked, looking at Brawly. He cocked an eyebrow at me questioningly.  
"Run!" Sara yelled and she turned and ran, I grabbed Brawly's hand and ran after her, dragging him with us, Sparky sighed and ran after us.

"Get back here!" Ash called.

Gary stood up. "Wanna catch em?"

"Yeah, otherwise they'll destroy the whole damn city!" Ash growled. "Come on!"

Ash and Gary ran after us.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Why did you drag me along!?"

"Because, you looked bored," I smiled at Brawly. "Now stop complaining and deal with it!"

"Yeah, don't turn into a party pooper!" Sara growled.

Brawly sighed. "Fine. But just to annoy Ash and the other guy."

The three of us and Sparky ran around Slateport City, then Sara got bored. "Where's a good place to hide?"

"Why not try the museum," Brawly suggested, pointing to the _large_ building.

"Okay!" Sara smiled and ran towards it, I ran after her, still half dragging Brawly. Sparky ran beside us.

We went into the museum and stopped, looking around. "This pace is huge!" I murmured.

"Well it is a museum," Sara pointed out. "But it's bigger than huge! It's.............. ginormous!"

"Where are they!?" I heard Ash's growling voice.

"Hide!" I said and we darted up the stairs, finding a table with a large cloth on it that reached the floor.

"Under there!" Sara said and we crawled under it, waiting to see if Gary and Ash would show up.

"Do you think they realize they hate each other?" Sara muttered.

"Probably not," I muttered in return. "They're both that thickheaded, I'm surprised they don't mistake each other for a Gulpin!"

"Well they look like it that's for sure," Sara murmured. "Ugly and stupid. Not to mention _**PIGS**_!"

"They are. Ash never stops eating when food is placed in front of him. Give him a mountain of food and he'd finish it all in a minute-"

Brawly's hand slapped across my mouth to stop me from talking. "Shut up, both of you!" he whispered. "They're here."

I cringed, but lied down on my stomach to see under the cloth. I saw their shoes and their pants, they were easy to recognize. Purple and blue didn't look like an everyday match up. They walked around the room, sure that they saw us run into the museum.

"I'm pretty sure they came in here," Ash muttered.

"Me too," Gary said. "Wonder where they are."

They walked closer to the table and I looked at Sara, lying down beside me, the same smirk that was on my face.

"What are you up to?" Brawly whispered.

"Nothing," we whispered back at the same time.

They were walking right past the table and our arms shot out, making the two guys trip over each other.

"OW!" Ash and Gary complained.

Gary glared at Ash. "Watch where you're going, idiot!"

"You should watch where _you're_ going, Gary!" Ash glared back.

Sara, Brawly, Sparky and I jumped out from under the table and started to run off, but my friends stopped and turned to look at me, blinking down at Gary and Ash.

The two guys looked up at me from glaring at each other. "You two really do resemble a Gulpin." I pulled out a Pokeball. "Can I catch you?"

Sara popped up beside me. "I want to catch one of them!"

"What the!?" Gary murmured. "What are you talking about? We're not Pokemon!"

"Yes you are, little Gulpin!" Sara smiled. "Pokeball, go!" she threw the Pokeball and it hit Gary's head, but that was it. "Aw, why didn't you get pulled inside the Pokeball?"

"Maybe because I'm a human," Gary pointed out.

"Let's see if it'll work for me," I smiled. "Pokeball, go!" I threw the Pokeball and it hit Ash right between the eyes, but nothing happened. The Pokeball fell from his face and I saw a huge dent, which would go away after a while, and Ash glared at me. "Um..... Sara?" Ash wouldn't stop glaring at me.

"Yeah? Didn't work for you either, huh? Looks like the Pokeballs don't like these kind of Pokemon. Let's go find a cage to fit them both in."

"I am not being stuck in no cage with him!" Gary pointed at Ash.

"And I'm not being stuck in a cage with someone like him!" Ash pointed back.

"I'm a better Trainer than you are!" Gary growled.

"I could so beat you in a battle!" Ash growled back.

"Shut up," I mumbled. "I could beat you both, hands down, so stop arguing, I'm getting bored with your childish mumble-talk."

Ash and Gary both glared at me and I took a step back. "Sara, can we get out of here now? Please? Before I become Pokemon food for them to eat!?"

"WE'RE NOT POKEMON!!!!!!!!!!!" Ash and Gary yelled and I bolted, not bothering to wait for Sara.

"Wait up!" Sara called and ran after me, grabbing Brawly's arm and dragging him along again, but she let him go when he ran as well. Sparky was still running beside me.

Gary and Ash growled at each other, not moving, giving each other glares. It was only then that they noticed a smashed vase beside them with a Pokeball beside it.

"Oh crap," Gary muttered.

"Excuse me young men, what do you think you're doing!?" they looked up at the museum tour guide. "Did you break that vase?" she asked.

They shook their heads.

"This is a museum, not a playground!" she growled. "Clean it up immediately and come with me to the front desk so you can repay for what you did."

"Uh...." Ash grabbed the Pokeballs and they both got up and ran off, but the woman grabbed them by the back of their shirts and stopped them.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Hey, why are they in trouble?" I mumbled, looking away from a big painting to see the tour guide woman, literally, dragging them to the front desk.

"What's the problem, Margette?" the person at the front desk asked.

"These two," the woman lifted them up a little off their feet. "Were throwing Pokeballs around and broke a vase."

"Whoops," Sara looked away from the glares that were shot in our direction.

"Wait a second, what happened to Pikachu?" I asked, but then looked down to see Sparky and Pikachu at my feet. "Oh, there you are."

"Should we help them?" Brawly asked.

Sara and I looked at Ash and Gary, the person at the front desk was really mad.

"Nah," we both said. "Let's just go."

We walked towards the door and I tried to ignore the glare Ash gave us. Pikachu went and joined Ash.

"Are those your friends?" the woman asked, seeing Pikachu go from us to Ash.

"Yeah-"

"No, we don't know them!" I yelled, turning around. "We have never seen those two in our lives! Honest!"

"Just run would ya!" Sara growled and I turned, bolting after Sara, Brawly and Sparky, leaving poor Ash and Gary to pay for the mess Sara caused.

"They're gonna kill us!" Sara laughed. "This is actually fun!"

"Fun!?" I exclaimed. "I don't feel like dying just yet ya know!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Well as long as they don't catch up with us, we'll be fine," Sara grinned.

I stopped and the others stopped. "Sara....." I muttered in a sarcastic tone.

"Yeah?"

"Gary, yeah who cares.. but in case you've forgotten, Ash travels with us!"

"Well, more like, we travel with him, but yeah- Oh......" Sara was suddenly unsure. "Maybe we should go back and help them...."

"Nah, leave em," Brawly smiled. "They can sort it out. I'll make sure they don't kill you."

"YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE MY BODYGUARD BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara screamed.

"Well he was my bodyguard from the beginning so, yeah," I smiled. "But at least we won't die!"

"YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Stop screaming!" Brawly covered his ears. "You've giving me a headache."

Sara crossed her arms. "Fine!"

I looked at the ground with a guilty smile. "If you think that's bad....... I don't think you want to hear me scream............"

"No, I don't," Brawly muttered.

"Well I'll try not to," I smiled.

"Let's go to the beach!" Sara mumbled. "I wanna go swimming."

Brawly looked at me and I shrugged. "Okay," he smiled.

"Pika!" Sparky said and ran towards the beach before we did. Now _we_ had to keep up with _Sparky_!

We ran after the little Pokemon and eventually found the beach, the sun was up now and it was really warm already.

"Too bad no surfboards," Brawly sighed.

"Oh well," Sara smiled. "We can still go for a swim. Let's go!"

Brawly grabbed Sara's bag to stop her. She looked over her shoulder at him. "What?"

"I don't think you want to swim in your clothes," Brawly muttered. "Maybe your swimmers would be better."

Sara looked down at her clothes, and then back at Brawly. "Shut up! I knew that.........."

I looked around. "There's a change room over there," I pointed to it and Sara smiled.

"Cool!" Sara ran towards it and dragged me as well.

"See ya in a few minutes," Brawly laughed as I nearly tripped.

After Sara and I got changed into our swimmers, which Brawly had let me keep that once belonged to his sister, we ran out of the change room and saw Brawly's Pokemon, Makuhita, and Sparky sitting on its head.

"Hey, where's Brawly?" I asked.

Makuhita and Sparky pointed to a shack and I saw Brawly handing something to someone and getting a surfboard in return. Brawly came back with a smile. "Ready to try surfing again?" he asked me.

"And fall over a million more times? No thanks," I muttered.

"I wanna try and surf!" Sara called and Brawly nodded, handing her the surfboard.

"Go ahead," he said and Sara ran towards the water with it and jumped in.

"You should have told her how to surf first," I told him as he stood beside me.

"I know," Brawly smirked. "I just wanna see her fall in."

I saw Sara stand up on the board as she caught a wave, but she started to wobble and she fell off, landing in the water, dramatically throwing her arms out as she fell in.

Brawly cracked up laughing, so did I, but I fell over, holding my stomach, Brawly didn't.

"BRAWLY!!!!!!!!!!!"

I sat up and looked at a drenched Sara.  
"Yeah?" Brawly asked.

"You forgot something!" Sara growled.

"And what would that be?" Brawly smiled.

"You forgot to teach me how to stand on this stupid thing!"

"Oh yeah... that...." Brawly smiled. "Okay, I'll teach you. But what was with the arms-out-falling-in thing?"

"Oh, I just wanted to make it look more realistic!" Sara smiled.

"You can't get anything more realistic than her that's for sure," I muttered, trying to catch my breath.

"I heard that!" Sara growled.

"I know!" I replied.

Sara crossed her arms. "Brawly! Dump her in the water for me!"

I had been laughing from Sara's stubbornness, but I suddenly stopped, taking in what Sara told Brawly to do.

"Okay," Brawly said and picked me up.

"Ah! What are you doing!?" I yelped. "Put me down!"

Brawly held me in his arms and carried me towards the water. "No can do."

"Put me down, put me down, put me down!" I threw my arms around and started kicking my legs. "Put... me DOWN!!!!"

Brawly walked out into the water and it was just below me. My toe skimmed the water and it was freezing!

"Don't you dare dump me in that!" I said, clinging onto him with my arms around his neck. "If I go in, so do you."

"I can deal with that," Brawly was about to dump me in, my foot went under the water.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed and Brawly let go of me to put his hands to his ears.

"OW!" Brawly complained, but then realized that he dropped me in the water.

I stood up with my arms crossed, glaring up at him.

"Uh... sorry?" Brawly tried to smile innocently, but he was a little scared.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" Sara laughed. "That was hilarious! Do it again, Skye! Brawly you should have seen the look on your face when she screamed! Hahahahahahahahaha!!!!"

"Brawly.." I mumbled.

"Yeah?"

"Like I said, I go in, so do you," I smirked and tackled him into the water, although it was freezing cold!

Sara thought for a second and smiled, coming over to us as we got up and tackling us both back down.

"Pika!" Sparky ran over with Makuhita and jumped on Brawly's shoulder. Makuhita went and retrieved the ditched surfboard.

"Thanks," Brawly muttered.

Sara smiled. "You're welcome!"

Brawly cocked an eyebrow at her and then pushed her over and she made a splash as she went under water. She came back up and splashed him.

"Pika!" Sparky complained and jumped into the freezing water, splashing Sara back because she got it wet.

Sara splashed Sparky more and then Brawly and I tackled Sara.

"Alright, alright!" Sara complained. "Teach me how to ride a surfboard!"

Brawly sighed and got up. "Alright," he explained the same thing he had explained to me the other day and Sara went and tried it. She managed to stay on the board for a few seconds, but when she tried to turn it, it turned too far and she fell off, she spread her arms out. "AAAHHHHH!!!!" she cried out in a dramatic voice, kind of slow-motion-like, and she curled into a ball, bombing into the water and splashing Brawly, Sparky and me.

We played around for a little bit, and then Sara sat down on the board. "I wonder how Ash and Gary are doing," she muttered.

"Maybe we should go to the museum and help em out-"

"Hey, guys!" I heard someone call out in a growl.

I turned around and saw the two people I didn't want to see. I yelped and jumped up, Brawly had to catch me in his arms to stop me from landing back in the water. I wrapped my arms around his neck to stop myself from falling, even though I knew he wouldn't drop me, unless he wanted to.....

"Uh-oh," Sara mumbled, coming over to us. "They don't look happy....."

"Ya think!?" I said. "You broke that vase and they had to make up for it! We're toast!"

"No we're not," Sara smiled. "We have our trusty bodyguard here to protect us," she slapped Brawly on the back as she said it, which would hurt because he had no shirt on.

"Ow," he muttered, looking at her.

"Well, you have to protect us!" Sara said.

"Yeah, after all, you are holding me," I muttered. "So they can't hurt me anyways."

Ash and Gary walked over to the water line. "You guys having fun?" Gary asked.

"Yeah, actually," Sara smirked.

"Good, because we're about to ruin your fun. You're in trouble for making us clean up the entire museum!"

"Oh... whoops!" Sara muttered and held up the surfboard. "I have a surfboard and I'm not afraid to use it!"

"You wouldn't!" Gary said.

"Make a bet?" Sara cocked an eyebrow at him, talking seriously.

Gary was freaked out now. "Okay, take it easy now, Sara."

Sara smirked and walked towards them with the surfboard. "I will hurt you with it!"

"Sara, calm down!" Brawly said. "Skye, let go so I can make sure she doesn't hurt them."

"No," I replied childishly. "I'm good here. You're warm, the water is cold. Take a bet which one I prefer."

"Sara, settle down," Gary and Ash were backing away from her as she came out of the water. Gary stepped back but accidentally stepped into a hole and fell over. Ash tripped over him.

Sara smiled and stood over them, holding up the surfboard above her head.

"Sara," Ash mumbled. "We were only kidding. Calm down....... Please?"

Sara threw the surfboard down and Gary jumped up just in time. The surfboard went into the ground and Sara leaned against it. "So, who wants to go surfing?"

"I knew she wouldn't hurt them," I smiled.

"She nearly got Gary," Brawly pointed out.

"Yeah, but she didn't, so she didn't," I said.

"You don't make sense sometimes, you know that?"

"Yep."

Brawly sighed. "And I like you."

"Your problem," I muttered. "Cry me a river, build a bridge and get over it."

"Let me go and I might," Brawly teased.

"I was being sarcastic, idiot!" I hit him in the forehead, lightly.

"I noticed," he said and started walking towards Sara and the others, still carrying me because I refused to let go.

"Um......" Ash blinked at Sara.

"So, you wanna go surfing or not?" Sara asked. "Or do I have to throw you in that water."

"I warn you, it's freezing," I murmured. "Thanks to him," I poked Brawly in the forehead. "I found out the hard way."

"Well you're the one that screamed!" Brawly replied. "It wasn't my fault."

"Oh, that wasn't her loudest scream," Sara looked over her shoulder at Brawly. "She's been louder than that. Trust me."

"You mean when she woke up the city?" Brawly asked. Sara nodded.

"She woke up a city by screaming?" Gary murmured.

"Yeah, wanna hear how?" Sara asked.

Gary nodded.

"Well..."

I let go of Brawly's neck. "Okay, put me down now!"

"I don't think so," Brawly smirked. "This is your own fault."

"I hate you!" I grumbled.

"Nice to know," Brawly said.

"Yep, it is."

"I shoved the teddy in her face and said 'RAWR', and then she screamed so loud that I'm positive every light in Rustboro City turned on. She jumped out of bed but tripped over, and even Nurse Joy had to come in and check to see if she was okay, but she was freaked, like she had some sort of heart attack or something!"

I rested my forehead on Brawly's shoulder. "This is so embarrassing. To hear this story over and over again. It makes me sound like an idiot."

"You _are_ an idiot so shut up," Sara said.

"Make me!" I poked my tongue out at her.

"Oh," Sara turned around. "I will."

"Sara, chill!" Ash said.

"Why?" Sara asked. "She told me to make her shut up, so I will."

My arms wrapped around Brawly's neck again. "You'll protect me."

"I will?" Brawly blinked.

"Yes."

"Um.. okay..."

"Skye, that's cheating!" Sara growled.

"I know. What are you going to do about it?"

Sara cracked her knuckles and I jumped right out of Brawly's arms, bolting off.

"Get back here!" Sara growled.

"Make me!" I poked my tongue out at her.

"She's asking for trouble," Gary muttered.

"As always," Ash said. "They're as bad as each other."

"As always?" Brawly asked. "Is Sara _always_ hyper like this?"

"Most of the time," Ash replied.

"YAY! I DID IT!"

They turned and saw Sara sitting on my back, duck tape around my mouth, holding my arms up behind my back and a glare in my eyes.

"That was quicker than usual," Ash muttered. "It took her longer to bring down Misty back in Johto."

"Where'd she get the duck tape?" Gary asked.

"Skye bought it," Ash sighed. "It was meant to shut me up somehow, but we found a different use for it."

"Which was?"

"Shutting _her_ up. She screams louder than an Ursaring can roar!"

"I don't wanna hear it then," Gary sighed.

"I got a headache from her screaming before," Brawly said. "And apparently it wasn't the loudest she can go."

"Nope," Ash said. "But when you're stuck in a cave with her, and an Ursaring, and her scream bounces off the walls, you really don't want to hear it."

"Too bad for you, Ash," Gary said.

"I know. Before we ran into Paul and his Ursaring all she did was complain."

"About?" Brawly asked.

"Well, I accidentally stepped on her foot, cause it was pitch black in the cave," Ash replied. "And then we argued and then she tackled me, getting the duck tape out."

"Hey, guys!" Sara called. "I made a sand castle!"

The guys turned to look at me and Sara, seeing only Sara and a pile of sand piled on top of me.

"Um......" the guys mumbled.

Sara was grinning. "I made her shut up!"

I mumbled something under the duck tape and tried to move, but the sand was too heavy, and she was sitting on the top.

"What should we do now?" Sara asked. "I'm bored."

"Try surfing again," Brawly suggested.  
"Pika, Pi," Sparky looked at me trying to get out, having no luck.

"Oo! Surfing!" Sara jumped off the sand castle and ran over to the surfboard, taking it out of the ground and running to the water.

While she was having fun on her own, the guys walked over to me, looking down at me covered in sand. I looked up at them and mumbled something that was clear to them. "Are you gonna help me out or what?"

They sighed and helped me get out of the sand castle. Gary help me up and I took the duck tape off my mouth. "OW!" I complained.

"How did she catch you?" Ash asked.

"She threw a stick and I tripped over it!" I whined, kicking the stick.

The guys started laughing and I crossed my arms stubbornly.

"You'll get over it," Brawly smiled.

"Easy for you to say," I grumbled. "You're not the one that tripped and became a human sand castle!"

Brawly shrugged. "I'd prefer not to become a human sand castle."

I sniffed and turned away, my arms still crossed.

"Grow up!" Brawly teased.

"Make me!"

"Not this again," Gary sighed. "Skye, if you keep going like that someone will make you do something that they want you to do. Sara made you shut up, because you told her to."

"_You_ shut up!" I growled.

"You need to cool off," Brawly said and picked me up.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed as he picked me up and he dropped me instantly. All three of the guys covered their ears.

"What!? My scream isn't deadly!" I grumbled, throwing sand up at them from where I sat on the ground thanks to Brawly.

Brawly recovered and picked me up again, covering my mouth.

"Careful, she bites," Ash replied.

"I know, you've told me already," Brawly said. "She wouldn't bite me."

_Make a bet_, Ash thought. _Three, two, one_...

"AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Skye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Brawly growled.

I looked up at him, my teeth embedded in his hand. I blinked with confusement. "Hm?" I mumbled.

"Let go of my hand," he said calmly.

"Why?" I mumbled, still holding on.

"Just do it."

I shook my head, but then I did let go and I ran off before Brawly could pick me up again. I ran out to the water where Sara was, splashing around on the surfboard like a child.

"Hi human sand castle!" Sara smiled.

"Hi... Sara I need your help."

"With?"

"I bit Brawly."

"Skye!" Sara sighed. "You're not supposed to bite your boyfriend!"

I froze. "My what?"

"You're not going out with him?" Sara asked. "I thought you were..... Anyway, no biting your boyfriend!"

"Who said he was my boyfriend?"

"Me," Sara smiled and an evil smirk crossed her face. "HEY BRAWLY! ARE YOU GOING TO COME GET YOUR GIRLFRIEND OR WHAT!?"

Brawly, Ash and Gary blinked at her.

"What now?" Brawly asked.

Sara blinked. "I thought the two of you were going out!" she crossed her arms stubbornly. "Go out already!"

Brawly and I blinked at her, understanding her mumble-talk, but not believing that she said it that way.

"Fine! If you two don't start going out, I declare you boyfriend and girlfriend right now!" Sara growled. "Live with it!"

Brawly cast a glance at Ash, Ash looked back and shrugged.

"What is she going on about?" Gary asked.

"She's the little match-maker," Ash mumbled. "She tried to help out Brock at one stage, but failed."

"Sara, you're kidding, right?" I asked her.

"Nope."

"Come on! Be serious!"

"I am."

"You can't just declare that me and Brawly are going out!"

"Just did."

"But-"

"_I'm_ the match-maker, I say who goes out and who doesn't!"

"Brawly, can you help me get her to make sense," I sighed.

"I am making sense."

"No you're not," I mumbled, but Brawly came over.

"Awwww, you two look so good together!" Sara smiled. "You look like a happy couple."

I thought for a moment. "Well, if you can declare stuff, then you and..... um.... Gary are officially going out!"

Sara had been smiling widely, but the smile faded as she turned to me with an expression that made her beaten at her own game. "What?"

"WHAT!?" Gary called.

Sara and Gary looked at each other.

"You can't just declare stuff like that!" Sara growled.

"Just did," I smirked.

"I hate it when people do that......" Sara muttered. "I am not going out with Gary!"

"Ouch, poor Gary," Brawly laughed. "You just got rejected, dude!"

Ash smiled and patted Gary on the shoulder. "Love hurts man."

"You would know, wouldn't you, Ash!?" Sara growled back at him, he shrugged.

"Why? Who does Ash like?" Gary asked.

I froze, I just wanted to sink into the bottom of the ocean.

"He likes Skye, but she already has a boyfriend now!" Sara poked her tongue out at Ash. "Too bad for poor Ashy-boy!"

"You can't just say we're going out and make it final!" I growled.

"Too bad."

"Gary! Get your girlfriend to take back what she said!" I growled.

Gary glared at me. "She ain't my girlfriend."

"Yeah she is-"

"That's enough out of you," Brawly sighed and put a hand over my mouth, this time I didn't bite him. I just mumbled something that was better left unsaid.

The day dragged on and me and Sara were still arguing over the fact she 'declared' me and Brawly as boyfriend and girlfriend. She argued back about her and Gary.

As the sun was starting to go down, it was getting cold, and all the other people from the beach were going home.

Me and Sara fell asleep, sitting on the sand, arguing. We had fallen on our backs and stayed there, falling asleep.

"They're always arguing and falling asleep," Ash sighed.

Brawly picked me up in his arms and Gary picked up Sara, because Ash wasn't going to.

"Let's go back to the Pokemon Center and let them get some rest," Ash sighed. "Tomorrow we get serious and do what we have to do."

"Which is?" Brawly asked.

"Deliver a package to Captain Stern." Ash replied.

Gary and Brawly shrugged and they started walking back to the Pokemon Center. My head rested against Brawly's chest, he was warm. Too bad for Ash, he had to carry everyone's bags. Sparky and Pikachu followed behind sleepily.


	11. Kidnapped

"Hey, Sparky, aren't the stars pretty tonight?"

"Pika, Pi," Sparky smiled at me, looking up at the stars from my shoulder. It was the middle of the night and I thought I might go for a walk with Sparky.

"You know something?"

"Pika?"

"If we didn't find Pikachu just outside of Oldale Town that day, we'd be traveling by ourselves. But maybe with Brawly after Dewford Town," I looked at Sparky.

"Pika," Sparky nodded.

"But traveling with Ash and Sara is fun too. Now Brawly as well, and by the looks of things, maybe even Gary."

"Pika, Pikachu," Sparky smiled.

I looked up at the sky, seeing no moon. "Hmm. A moonless night I'm guessing."

"Pika.."

The stars were glittering down on the world, but they were a little hard to see with all the city lights shining in our faces.

"Let's go to the shipping place where it would be darker and we can see the sky better," I smiled and Sparky jumped down from my shoulder. We raced in the direction of the shipping place. We'd be back at the Pokemon Center by morning, so I left my bag and the other Pokemon with the others. Sparky and I would sneak back in and make it look like we never left. Only, thing was, I woke up still in my swimmers, so I had gotten changed back into my normal clothes before leaving.

I shrugged and we reached the shipping place where a ferry would normally be, but there wasn't one.

"Pika, Pi!" Sparky ran over to where the water started and I joined it, sitting down beside it.

Sparky and I looked into the water and we saw the reflection of the stars. We looked up into the sky and the stars shone brighter than how we saw them in the city.

"Wow, it's pretty," I smiled.

"Pika, Pi," Sparky's eyes were shining.

"Tonight is cool. I wonder how long we'll be staying in Slateport City. Sara does have a Contest on soon."

"Pikachu.."

"Tonight is your _last_ night in Slateport City, kid," I heard someone's voice and I looked over my shoulder, but I was suddenly grabbed, brought to my feet with the person holding my arms. Another person put a hand over my mouth to stop me from screaming.

"Pika!" Sparky growled and was about to shock them, but another person grabbed it with rubber gloves and shoved Sparky in a little glass dome with a solid ground. "Pika-CHUUUUUU!!!!!" Sparky tried a Thunderbolt but couldn't break the glass.

_What is going on_!? I thought with panic. I growled and bit down on the person's hand. He growled and took his hand away. I was about to scream, but they put something else over my mouth; duck tape.

"You're coming with us, kid," the guy that held me smiled and tied my arms behind my back with rope. "Your friends won't save you this time. You're all alone now."

I looked over my shoulder at him and saw his bandanna, he was from Team Aqua. My heart raced and I tried to kick him, but he pushed me over and I hit the ground.

I tried to get up, but because my arms were tied up, I couldn't. I looked up to see three Team Aqua guys, two of them that had held me down, the other one had Sparky.

"Ha, it took five or more of our group to try and get you to Archie, and it only takes three people this time," one of them laughed.

"Let's hurry up and get out of here before the sun rises and her friends come looking for her," the one that held Sparky said.

The other two nodded and picked me up, one of them pushed me forward, making me walk. I was scared, not sure what Team Aqua wanted with me, but they had Sparky and I couldn't just run off while they had it.

"Cooperating I see," the guy that was leading me smiled.

"It's because we have her Pokemon," the one that held Sparky laughed. "She doesn't want us to hurt it. And she has no other Pokemon with her, so she's helpless!"

They took Sparky and I just outside of Slateport City and into the forest. After a fair bit of walking, we stopped and I looked up at a ship, it was huge.

A door came open and the stairs came down.

"Move!" one of them shoved me forward. One of them walked up the stairs first, the one that had Sparky, and then the other two made me follow. I walked up the stairs, unable to free my arms and run away, unable to scream for help. I had no choice but to cooperate with these creeps.

We got on the ship and the doors closed, the ship started up immediately and lifted off the ground, moving off. I wasn't sure where we were going, but I knew my friends would realize I was missing by morning.

I was pushed into a room that looked like the main controls area, there were a lot of Team Aqua people, some of them females, two of them I knew as Nick and Shaun.

"We got her," one of the guys announced. "It was a piece of cake."

"It's kinda easy when she decides to take midnight walks and leaves her friends at the Pokemon Center," the one that held Sparky said and put the little glass dome on a table.

One of the females walked over to me and looked at me. "She's just a kid. What's Archie up to? Why does he want her?"

The guy behind me shrugged. "Archie just said get the girl."

The female shrugged back and ripped the duck tape from my mouth. It hurt!

I growled at her. "Aw, did I hurt you?" she said in a baby-voice. "Poor kid."

She brought herself down to my level, her face in front of mine. I growled a little louder and slammed my forehead against hers, making her stumble back.

"That hurt, kid!" she growled, holding her forehead.

"Aw, did I hurt you?" I mimicked in a baby-voice. "Poor Team Aqua scum!"

"How dare you!" she growled and grabbed me by the throat.

"What are you gonna do about it?" I growled back at her. "I'm sure your stupid leader Archie wouldn't like it if you presented me to him with bruises all over me, now would he?"

The woman lifted a fist in a very threatening way, I just glared at her, egging her on.

The growled and let go of my throat, walking away from me. "You're not even worth my time, kid."

"What's the matter?" I smirked. "Am I too good to bother hurting? Or are you just scared of Archie? Whoever the heck that freak is."

"I ain't scared of anyone!" the woman spun around. "But if you insist!" She came storming over to me and was about to throw a punch at me.

The guy that held my arms still hadn't let go, so I jumped up, putting my weight on him and kicking the woman in the face. The guy was forced to let go of me and I did a spin in the air, landing on the ground in a balanced crouch, not needing my arms.

The woman fell over and glared at me, I glared right back. "I don't care if Archie wants to talk to me, I ain't going without a fight!" I growled, trying to untie my arms. "Sparky, Iron Tail!"

Sparky's tail glowed and it slammed it against the glass over and over again. Eventually, the glass broke and Sparky jumped to my side.

Strangely, no one made a move to stop me. Sparky came behind me, chewing on the ropes until they snapped. I didn't care that no one tried to stop me, I got up and ran out of the room with Sparky at my side.

Nick was about to run after me but Shaun stopped him. "Don't worry. She can't go anywhere."

"Let's call Archie and tell him we have the girl," one of the females said, sitting down in the seat in the middle of the room and dialing a number on the arm rest. A person appeared on the screen, sitting down on a chair, wearing a black suit-like outfit, a blue bandanna with the Team Aqua symbol on it, he had a mustache and a small beard. "What is it?" he growled.

"Archie," the female said. "We have Skye with us."

"Excellent work Mia. I would like to see her, please," Archie replied.

"I apologize, Archie," Mia sighed. "The girl has tried to escape and is busy trying to find a way out." She turned in her seat. "Go get her," she ordered to Shaun and Nick. The two guys nodded and ran off to catch me. "This will only be a moment," Mia turned back to Archie.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

Sparky and I ran all around the ship, looking for a way out. We found a window and looked out, no point trying to find a way out anyway, we were in the air. And I didn't feel like a midnight sky-dive with no parachute.

I turned around when I heard footsteps and I saw Shaun and Nick. "Archie wants to see you, kid," Nick said.

"Well too bad!" I growled. "Sparky, Thunderbolt!"

Sparky smiled. "Pika-CHUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Shaun and Nick were electrocuted and Sparky and I ran off, trying to find _some_ way of getting off the ship and back to my friends.

We ran all the way around the ship again, but found nothing that would help. I sighed and fell to my knees, my hand against the wall in front of me. "I'm sorry, Sparky. But there's no way out. We're stuck here until we get to where we're going."

"Pika, Pi," Sparky said and walked in front of me. "Pi, Pikachu!"

I smiled. "I know. We will get out, and we'll get back to the others in no time. Thank you, Sparky."

"There you are!" I looked over my shoulder and saw the two Team Aqua guys again. Shaun grabbed me and pulled me to my feet, holding my arm tightly and pulling me back to the main room. Sparky jumped up on my shoulder and I growled at Shaun because of how tight he held my arm.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

Archie was getting impatient. "Where is she!?" he growled to Mia.

Mia sighed. "Those two numskulls are probably having trouble catching her. She does have a temper, and a foul mouth."

Archie was about to say something when they heard doors open.

"I do know how to walk ya know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Mia and Archie looked up to see Nick and Shaun dragging me into the room with Sparky at my feet. They dragged me in front of the screen and I sat down, forcing them to let go of me and I crossed my arms, looking up at the huge screen at Archie. "Who the heck are you?"

"I am Archie, the leader of Team-"

"Ohhhh..... Mr. Bossy!" I growled. "What the heck do you want with me!?"

Mia sighed.

"I will explain when you reach our headquarters in Mauville City," Archie replied. "Then you will probably understand better-"

"Blah, blah, blah!" I rolled my eyes. "I don't care! I don't appreciate getting kidnapped in the middle of the night and getting taken away from my friends!"

"I apologize," Archie said.

"You don't mean that," I turned my head to Sparky and patted my Pokemon.

"It's your own fault for walking around the city at night!" one of the guys pointed out.

"Did someone ask for your opinion, loser!?" I snapped. "Shut up and go back to whatever the heck you were doing!!!!!!!!!"

"You were right, Mia, she does have a temper," Archie smirked.

"What's so funny?" I growled, glaring up at him.

"Oh nothing, you're just a bright young kid, always throwing insults around," Archie laughed.

"Oh, you want an insult?" I smirked. "Well how about this; You're a freak, you look ugly, that black suit does not suit you, that bandanna makes you look even more like a freak, and you're fat!"

Archie growled, but had nothing to say.

"That's what I thought," I poked my tongue out at him rudely. "As soon as this stupid piece of junk lands, Sparky and I are taking off!"

"Oh no you're not-"

"Shut up, Nick!" I snapped.

"I will see you at Mauville City," Archie said and the screen went black.

I growled and crossed my arms again, I wasn't going to be stuck with Team Aqua, Sparky and I would find a way out of this, no matter what.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Uh... guys....... Guys?.................. GUYS! GET UP ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Brawly, Ash and Gray jumped up, startled awake. They blinked at Sara. "What?" Ash grumbled.

"Skye is gone," Sara replied.

"What!?" they were wide awake now. "What do you mean 'gone'!?!?!?!?!"

"Her bag and Pokeballs are still here," Sara looked to my bed. "But Skye and Sparky aren't."

"Where could they have gone?" Gary murmured.

Sara shrugged. "But we have to find her."

"Maybe she just went for a walk," Brawly yawned. "I'm sure she's fine."

Ash was deep in thought, remembering the night in Rustboro City when Team Aqua had tried to take her. He shook his head. _Don't jump to conclusions_, he thought. _She has Sparky with her. There's no way Team Aqua got to her_.

"Come on!" Sara was already dressed and ready. "We have to find her!"

"What's the rush?" Gary asked. "I'm sure she's fine."

Sara growled. "Yeah, but you don't know that! If she's running around and being an idiot without me, she's in trouble!"

Sara's foot was tapping as the guys only just started to get out of bed. She growled and walked to each bed, pulled the guys off their bed. "Get.. UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Alright, alright!" Ash said and they got up. The three guys grabbed their bags and headed for the door. Sara picked up my bag and followed them. Pikachu ran after them with something in its mouth.

They walked around Slateport City, trying to look for me, but had no luck. Sara was growling most of the way, looking around for me with her arms crossed.

"Where is she!?" Sara grumbled.

"We would tell you if we knew," Gary replied. "That's the whole point of looking for her."

"I don't want to hear your stupid sarcasm right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara snapped. "I just want to find Skye so don't annoy me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The guys were scared, Sara was in a really bad mood.

Sara sighed and pulled out one of my Pokeballs. "Poochyena, come on out."

Poochyena appeared in front of them and looked around for me, but I wasn't there.

"Poochyena, we need you to find Skye's scent and track her for us," Sara said.

"Pooch!" Poochyena started sniffing around and caught the scent quickly. The four friends ran after Poochyena, Pikachu still had the thing in its mouth.

They followed Poochyena over to the shipping place, but then Poochyena started growling.

"What is it, Poochyena?" Brawly asked.

"Poochyena!" Poochyena growled, sniffing around some more.

"Pika!" Pikachu jumped up on Ash's shoulder, shoving the piece of paper in his face.

Ash took the piece of paper. "What's this, Pikachu?" he asked, unfolding it.

"What is it?" Sara asked.

"It's a note," Ash mumbled.

"Well, what does it say?" Gary asked.

"It's hard to read," Ash said. "It's smudged a little."

"Give it here," Brawly sighed and Ash gave him the piece of paper.

"Well? What does it say, Brawly?" Sara asked.

"It says: Too bad for you, you let your friend out of your sight and let her walk around by herself in the middle of the night. You won't find her in Slateport, she's with us in Mauville City. Let's see your prophecy come true when Skye is in our hands and helps us destroy the world. Signed, Team Aqua."

"Team Aqua!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Sara and Ash exclaimed.

"So, she's in Mauville," Gary murmured. "That's the next city on. Two days away."

"TWO DAYS!?" Sara growled. "SHE'S TRAPPED WITH TEAM AQUA FOR TWO DAYS UNTIL WE'RE ABLE TO HELP HER!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

"Well, we have to stay here for your Contest-"

"I COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT NO STUPID CONTEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara nearly screamed. "I CARE ABOUT SKYE AND IF TEAM AQUA DOES ANYTHING TO HURT HER I WILL KILL THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Okay, calm down, Sara," Brawly said. "We'll find her, don't worry. She knows how to take care of herself."

"That's what her brother told us," Sara muttered and held out Poochyena's Pokeball, making the little Pokemon go inside it. "Come on, we're heading to Mauville, now!"

"We can't go just yet!" Ash said. "We still need to deliver a package to Captain Stern."

"Well then let's hurry up and do that!" Sara snapped, heading in the direction of the place where they made ships.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"LET GO OF ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Shut up and stop screaming!" Nick growled, hitting me over the back of the head.

I tore one arm free of Shaun's grip and smashed Nick in the face with one of my fists. Nick fell back and let me go. I shoved Shaun out of the road and Sparky jumped off my shoulder, racing alongside me as we took off towards the deeper part of the forest, not sure where we were going.

"After her!" Mia growled and Team Aqua came after us.

We ran through the forest. "Where do we go, Sparky?" I asked.

"Pika, Pi!" Sparky said, also unsure.

We ran and ran and ran, finding ourselves at a sign that said "Mauville City". I rolled my eyes. "Great! Stuck in Mauville City!" I growled. "Come on, Sparky, let's go find the Pokemon Center and called the others in Slateport."

"Pika," Sparky nodded and we ran into the City that was just waking up. We ran around the city, finding the Pokemon Center after a while.

Sparky and I walked in and saw Nurse Joy at the front desk. "Hello, how can I help you this morning?" she asked.

"I need to use a video phone," I replied. "And if people come in looking for me, please don't tell them I'm here."

"Why?"

"I'm running away from them," I replied and Nurse Joy nodded.

"There's a few in the waiting room."

"Thanks," I said and Sparky and I ran to the waiting room, going to a video phone and quickly called the Pokemon Center in Slateport City.

It took a few rings before anyone answered, but then I saw Nurse Joy on the screen. "Hello?" she said.

"Nurse Joy, it's Skye," I said. "I was with the other small group of Pokemon Trainers, the ones with the former Gym Leader of Dewford Town, Brawly."

Nurse Joy smiled. "Oh, hello. Your friends were looking for you earlier, they're upstairs cleaning the room quickly before they leave. Where are you?"

"I need you to tell them that I'm in Mauville City, currently trying to escape from Team Aqua," I said. "Please, will you tell them?"

Nurse Joy nodded but turned around. "They're here, you can tell them." She got up and I saw her rush over to my friends. She exchanged words with them and they ran to the phone.

"Skye, are you alright!?" Ash asked when I saw them.

"I'm fine for the moment, I got away from Team Aqua, but they're looking for me," I sighed. "I don't know how long I can run from them. When can you get here?"

"Two days at the least," Gary replied.

My eyes widened. "I can't run from them for two whole days!"

"Well, in the note they left it mentioned the prophecy," Sara said. "They want you to help them do something to disrupt the whole thing!"

I growled. "Well then if they find me I'll tell em it's not me!!!!!!!!"

"Where is she!? I know this would be the first place she'd come!"

I jumped. "I have to go! They're here! See you."

"Skye!"

I looked at Brawly. "Yeah?"

"Please be careful," Brawly said.

I nodded. "I'll try." I hung up the phone and the screen went black. Sparky and I snuck to the corner, looking out at the front desk, it was only four of them.

"Pika," Sparky whispered.

"I know. We have to get out of here without letting them know," I whispered back.

Suddenly, I heard a door open and I looked behind us to see the door to the emergency room open. _Thanks Nurse Joy_, I smiled and we ran over to it. When we got in, it closed behind us and we ran down the corridors, unsure of which way to go.

We ran through another door and found ourselves at the front desk, the Team Aqua guys were walking to the waiting room.

Sparky and I ducked under the desk and looked up at Nurse Joy. "Thank you," I whispered.

"I'll tell you when they're gone," Nurse Joy whispered back. "Get ready to run."

I nodded and looked at Sparky. "Okay, Sparky." I held out its Pokeball. "This is an emergency, I need you to go inside the Pokeball."

Sparky nodded and touched its paw to the button when I made it expand. Sparky went inside and the Pokeball shrank again. I put it back to my belt.

"GO!" Nurse Joy whispered to me and I got up, jumping over the front desk and I ran out the doors.

"There she is!" one of them saw me and I bolted down the path, not sure of where I was going.

I ran around the city, not sure where to go and really scared that I was going to get caught. I was actually surprised I managed to run off and last this long.

I looked over my shoulder, no Team Aqua. I turned back to see where I was going but I crashed into someone, falling to the ground. My heart raced, was it a Team Aqua person? I looked up.

"Do you _ever_ watch where you're running?"

My eyes widened. "Paul!?"

"Yeah, that's me. Where are your friends?" Paul asked.

I jumped up when I heard someone calling for me. I grabbed Paul's hand and dragged him into an alley and hiding behind a dumpster. I heard footsteps getting louder and I peered past the dumpster to see the four Team Aqua people run past the alley.

"What the hell is going on!?" Paul growled at me.

"Team Aqua is after me!" I murmured quietly. "They kidnapped me from Slateport City last night and brought me here. I'm trying to keep away from them until Ash and the others get here."

"Others?"

"Ash, Sara, Brawly and Gary," I replied. "Gary isn't traveling with us I don't think."

"You mean, Brawly the Gym Leader?"

"_Former_ Gym Leader," I corrected. "He's traveling with us now, because he likes me."

"Oh really?"

"Yep," I turned to Paul. "Please, Paul, I need your help. I need to stick with you until the others get here, which will be in two days least. Please, please, Paul. Please help me!"

"Of course I'll help you," Paul replied. "But if we're going to be here for a few days, you need to be able to hide your appearance."

"So.... get a disguise?" I murmured.

Paul nodded.

I sighed. "Alright. You got any suggestions?"

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"You're kidding? I can't see passed this thing!"

Paul had dragged me over to some random shop and he made me try on some massive black jacket that was too big for me and the hood nearly covered my whole face, the jacket nearly ended near my knees!

"You can't notice who you are, can you?" Paul asked, rolling his eyes. "Don't get too fussy."

"It's huge!" I whined.

"Well, it's better than nothing."

"No."

"Hey, you asked for my help so you got it."

"At least find me something that fits me _and_ makes it look like I'm someone else!"

"Fine," Paul sighed and I took the jacket off, putting it over some chair that was near the huge mirror.

I looked out the window and saw a girl from Team Aqua, looking around with one of the guys. I recognized that girl as the one I kicked in the face. I quickly ducked down under the window so they wouldn't see me.

Paul came back. "They're not there anymore."

I breathed and stood up, they were gone. Paul handed me a black jacket and a dark blue cap. I put the jacket on and zipped it up, tossing the hood over my head. My hair was still visible. I took the hood down, tied my hair up and put the cap on, putting the hood back up.

"You look like a guy," Paul said.

"Problem?"

"No. At least they won't recognize you now."

"Good. I'll pay for it- oh wait....."

"You don't have your bag," Paul smirked. "Don't worry, I got it." He pulled some money out of his pocket and went to pay for it. I sighed, wishing I did have my bag, and my other Pokemon.

I went after Paul, knowing that if I wanted to keep up my disguise, Sparky had to stay in the Pokeball. I followed Paul out into the city and we walked around. "Thanks for helping me, Paul," I murmured.

"No problem," Paul replied and I saw the guy and girl Team Aqua people running our way. I was about to turn and run. "Stay still!" Paul hissed.

I tried, tensing up and preparing to run. The Team Aqua people stopped in front of us. "Hey, you two guys. Have you seen a girl around your age, long black hair and a Pikachu with her?" the female asked.

Paul nodded. "Yeah, we've seen her. She's pretty cute. What do you want her for?"

"We need to find her," the guy said and looked at me. "Where is she?"

"We only saw her run past us," I put on a deep voice. "How should we know where she is?"

The guy grabbed my jacket and held me roughly. "Tell me where she is, boy, or else!"

I looked up a little to look the guy in the eyes. "I don't know where she is," I said, trying to hard to make my voice deep.

The guy growled and let me go.

"I'm pretty sure she was headed towards Slateport City," Paul said.

They seemed satisfied. "Thanks you two," the girl said and they ran off.

My heart skipped a beat and I took a deep breath. "It worked."

"I thought it would," Paul sighed. "That was too close."

I smirked. "Oh yeah, thanks for the comment. Am I really cute?"

Paul froze, stuck. "Uh..."

I blinked at him. "Don't tell me _you_ like me too!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

Paul was still stuck. "Wait.. how many people like you!?"

"Let's see.... Brawly.... Ash..... You....... I'm pretty sure that's it......."

"Ash as well?"

"Yep."

"Well, how does that work when you travel with Ash, Brawly and the other two?"

I shrugged. "They don't hate each other, I know that much."

Paul nodded.

"You still haven't answered my question," I crossed my arms stubbornly.

Paul rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, okay."

"You like me?"

"............... Yeah......"

"Let's keep going before the Team Aqua people come back to growl at us for lying to them," I grabbed his shoulder and dragged him off, not wanting to talk about that anymore.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"I'm so bored! Can't you three walk any faster!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

"Slow down, Sara!" Ash growled. "We'll get there, don't worry!"

"Well the faster we get there the better!" Sara growled back. "Now if you don't hurry up, I'm taking off without you!"

The guys sighed. "Is she always like this when Skye goes missing?" Brawly asked.

"I don't know. Skye's never gone missing," Ash replied. "Can someone make her slow down!?"

Gary sighed and ran to catch up with Sara. He turned her around and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?" Sara screamed, letting hers and my bags drop onto the ground. "PUT ME DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Shut up!" Gary growled. "You scream too loud!"

"MAKE ME!" Sara snapped. "PUT ME DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Someone get the duck tape," Gary muttered.

"Done and done," Brawly smirked and grabbed the duck tape out of my bag. He put some of it to Sara's mouth so she couldn't scream anymore, but that didn't stop her from pounding her fists against Gary's back and kicking her legs around. Brawly jumped back to avoid getting hit. He picked up my bag and Ash picked up Sara's bag and they all continued walking towards Mauville City.

Sara muttered something. "What was that?" Gary asked. "Didn't quite hear you."

Sara punched him in the back.

"OW! Alright, I understand!" Gary growled and turned to the others. "Can't someone else carry her?"

Brawly smirked. "You're her boyfriend, you have to carry her."

Sara shot a deadly glare at Brawly, making him stop smirking.

"Brawly, you're stronger, you carry her!" Gary growled.

"No thanks, I'd rather not die," Brawly mumbled.

Sara mumbled something again.

"What?" Gary asked. "Didn't hear that either."

Sara growled and ripped the duck tape off her mouth. "I said....."

Gary's eyes widened.

"PUT! _ME_! _**DOWN**_!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Gary cringed and put her on her feet. "What is it gonna take to shut you up!?!?!?!?!?!"

"Walking faster!" she growled.

"I know a way to shut her up!" Brawly smirked again.

"What?" Gary asked, looking over his shoulder at Ash and Brawly.

"You're her boyfriend, you think about it," Ash caught on.

Gary thought for a moment. "Are you kidding me?"

Brawly and Ash shook their heads. "It will shut her up," Ash mumbled. "Trust me. It's happened to her before."

Gary turned back to Sara, cocking an eyebrow.

"What are you boys thinking about?" she growled. "I don't get it!"

Gary took a deep breath. "Don't kill me, please."

"Depends what it is!" Sara growled.

Gary looked over his shoulder again at Ash and Brawly, scared.

"Just do it already!" Brawly sighed.

"I WANNA KNOW WHAT THE HECK YOU'RE THINKING OF DOING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara nearly screamed.

"Alright, if it'll shut her up," Gary turned back to Sara, she glared at him.

She crossed her arms. "Why won't anybody tell me anything!? You never do! You're so mean, why doesn't anybody ever tell-"

Sara's eyes widened as Gary kissed her. She would have screamed, but she couldn't. Gary pulled back and she glared at him, making him let her go and step back.

"Well, she's kinda quiet now," Gary muttered.

"Actually, come to think of it, that might have just been a one time thing," Ash mumbled.

Gary froze and looked over his shoulder at Ash and Brawly, the two guys were close to cracking up laughing. "Ash....."

Ash was the first to crack up laughing, he nearly fell over, holding his stomach. Brawly laughed as well. Gary turned back to Sara, she was still glaring at him, wiping her mouth with her arm.

"Uh......" Gary mumbled. _It wasn't that bad, was it_? He thought.

Sara took in a deep breath. "Gary..........."

"Y-y-yeah?"

"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT ALL ABOUT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! THAT WAS GROSS!!!!!!!!!!! DON'T YOU DARE EVEN THINK ABOUT DOING THAT AGAIN OR I'LL KILL YOU, I SWEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, and Ash.."

Ash stopped laughing and blinked at Sara.

"_Next_ time you decide to tell people about that last time, I'M GOING TO THROW YOU IN A LAKE AND MAKE SURE YOU DROWN IN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, and also, Brawly......"

Brawly didn't stop laughing, he just looked up at her, trying to stop, not realizing the growl she let out. "Yeah?"

"NEXT TIME YOU GET AN IDEA LIKE THAT, SAVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! USE THOSE IDEAS FOR YOU AND SKYE, NOT FOR GARY TO DO TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Brawly stopped laughing. "That's not a bad idea," he mumbled to himself.

Sara blinked at him. "Idiot. So, Gary?"

"Yeah?" Gary was scared.

"DON'T YOU DARE EVER DO THAT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara screamed.

"I know, you've said that already!" Gary said. "I'm sorry!"

"THEN WHY DID YOU DO IT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

"Brawly came up with the idea and Ash said it would make you quiet," Gary replied. "But it just made you louder," he muttered to himself.

Sara growled and turned around. "Let's hurry up and get to Mauville City."

"Pika, Pi," Pikachu sighed and they all followed her.

Sara saw a lake up ahead and the path went across it. They walked on the path with water on either side of them. She stopped.

The guys and Pikachu stopped as well.

"Gary," Sara said.

"Yeah?" Gary replied.

"Can you come here a minute, I want to talk to you," she walked forward a little more and Gary walked after her. Brawly, Ash and Pikachu stayed where they were.

Sara stopped again and turned to face Gary.

"What's wrong?" Gary asked, not seeing the tiny smirk on her face.

Sara stepped a little closer to Gary, purposely making herself feel embarrassed so her cheeks would go red.

"Uh...." Gary just looked at her standing directly in front of him. She didn't say a word, just put her arms around him and hugged him, letting the smirk grow.

Ash and Brawly saw the smirk on her face. "Uh-oh," Ash said.

Brawly nodded. "He's in for it."

"Uh.. Sara? Are you alright?" Gary went red in the face and she could feel him tense up.

"Yeah, I'm better than alright," Sara smiled widely and looked up at him, seeing the redness in his cheeks. In a matter of seconds, she stepped to the side and pushed him into the water, watching him make a big splash.

Gary came back above water. "What the!?"

"That's what you get!" Sara smiled childishly and put a finger on her cheek, winking whilst poking her tongue out at him.

Ash, Brawly and Pikachu came over. "What did you do that for?" Ash asked.

"That's what he gets for kissing me," Sara pretended to gag.

"Help me out!" Gary growled and Ash put a hand out. Gary took his hand and Ash was about to help him out of the water but Sara got a cheeky idea. She ran forward and pushed Ash into the water.

"Wow, he made a bigger splash than Gary did," Sara murmured to herself.

"SARA!" Ash growled.

"What? It's not my fault you're heavier than Gary and you make a bigger splash," Sara smirked.

"Let's see how much of a splash you make," Brawly said and picked her up, walking to the waters edge and letting go of her.

She yelped and accidentally wrapped her arms around his neck, dragging him into the water with her.

"Pika?" Pikachu tilted its head.

"SARA!" Brawly growled.

"Sorry," Sara smirked, leaning her arms on Gary's head and looking over him. "Reflexes will do that."

"We don't have time to waste messing around!" Brawly murmured.

"I know. You're the one who went to throw me in," Sara said.

"You started it," Brawly replied.

"Oh, so now it's my fault?"

"Yep."

"Well excuse me. I'm not the one that gave Gary"- she hit him on the head before resting her chin on his head -"the idea to kiss me, now did I?"

"OW!" Gary complained.

"Live through it," Sara growled at him and hit him again.

"Well you're the one that pushed Ash and Gary in, in the first place!" Brawly argued with her.

"I know," Sara smirked. "Cause I wanted to."

Pikachu was getting impatient. "Pika-CHUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Pikachu sent a Thunderbolt into the water and everyone was electrocuted.

"PIKACHU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" they all growled.

"PIKA!" Pikachu argued and pointed in the direction of Mauville City. "PIKA, PIKACHU! PI, PIKA!"

"Alright, we're coming," Ash said and they all got out of the water.

They were all drenched, but Pikachu and Sara managed to keep up the pace, Brawly just couldn't be bothered walking fast as much as he wanted to see me, Ash and Gary were tired beyond help.

The sky was getting dark and they decided to camp out in the forest for the night. Sara rolled her sleeping bag out and she crawled into it, looking up at the sky. Brawly, Ash, Gary and Pikachu were sitting around the fire, but Sara decided to go to sleep. She closed her eyes and was asleep in moments.

"So, Gary....." Brawly smirked.

"Yeah? What?" Gary murmured.

"You looked like you liked that kiss that you gave Sara earlier," Brawly continued.

Gary froze up. "............... What's your point in all this?"

"Oh nothing," Brawly smiled. "Just that you like Sara and I was just trying to get you to confirm it."

"So what if I like her-" Gary closed his mouth and Ash and Brawly started laughing. Gary sighed and looked at Brawly. "You like Skye, don't you?"

"We all know that," Brawly replied simply.

Gary blinked. "So you admit it. Does she know?"

Brawly nodded. "Of course she knows. She's known since the day I met her at the Dewford Gym."

"How?"

"I said she was pretty," Brawly smirked.

Ash laughed. "That was funny. Skye went red in the face and everything."

Gary blinked. "Whoa..."

"You should tell Sara that you like her," Brawly said.

"Are you kidding?" Gary glared at him. "It might be easy for you to just say it like that, but....." he glanced in Sara's direction and looked back at Brawly. "I don't think so."

Brawly crossed his arms over his chest. "If you don't tell her, I will."

Gary blinked. "Don't, you, dare!"

"I will," Brawly smirked. "If you like her, you need to tell her."

"He is right," Ash agreed.

"You can't talk," Brawly turned on Ash. "Sara was the one that had to tell Skye-"

"Shut up!" Ash growled before Brawly could finish.

"That you liked her," Brawly finished, glancing at Ash.

Gary cocked an eyebrow. "Ohh... so you like Skye as well, do you?"

Ash glared at Brawly. "Thanks!" he growled.

"No problem," Brawly replied.

"Well if that is the case, why do you two get along pretty well?" Gary asked. "Because you both like the same girl."

"We talked it over," Ash sighed, giving in. "Skye likes Brawly more and I'm okay with it."

"Really?" Gary smirked. "I reckon you get jealous when she's with him."

"He kinda does," Brawly murmured.

"I do not!"

"Do too!"

"I do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not-"

"Shut up!!! I'm trying to sleep here!" Sara grumbled and sat up. "What are you arguing about this time!?"

"Ash doesn't think he gets jealous when Skye is with me," Brawly said. "Which he DOES!"

"I do not!" Ash growled.

"Do too!"

"Pika!" Pikachu jumped on Brawly's shoulder and poked its tongue at Ash.

"Thanks for the help, Pikachu," Ash grumbled.

"Pika!" Pikachu smiled.

"Well you do," Sara muttered. "When Skye first walked into the Dewford Gym and the lights came on I knew Brawly had a thing for her. And when he pretty much flirted with her you growled."

Ash was silent.

"See!" Brawly smirked.

Gary blinked. "I've never seen Ash jealous before. Brawly, you've got to make him jealous so I can see it, alright?"

Brawly looked at Gary and looked back at Ash through the corner of his eyes, smirking. "Sure."

Sara blinked, and then cracked up laughing. "Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!! I so wanna see that!!!!!!!!!! Brawly, the only way you're gonna do that is by kissing her! I dare you to, I dare you to! I dare you, dare you, dare you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Brawly glanced at Ash and nodded. "Fair enough. If it'll work, I'll do it."

"It will!" Sara fell back, laughing. "I have to be around when you kiss her, alright?!"

"Okay," Brawly said.

Sara sat up. "And it has to be as soon as we find her in Mauville City! You have to walk right up to her and kiss her on the spot!"

"What? Are you pretty much ordering the scene and everything?" Brawly said sarcastically. "Why not get a damn camera crew while you're at it?"

"Never said I couldn't get a camera," Sara smirked.

Brawly rolled his eyes. "Anything else?"

Sara thought for a moment. "Um..... I don't think so....."

"Good, now go back to sleep."

"Meanie, you ruin all my fun," Sara grumbled and rolled over, going back to sleep.

Brawly looked at Ash. "So, if I do that, would you get jealous?"

"No."

"Oh really?" Brawly smirked. "We'll just have to test that."

Gary smiled. "I want to see your expression when it happens."

"I ain't gonna get jealous if he kisses her!" Ash growled.

"We'll see," Brawly yawned.


	12. Team Magma

"Where are they? They should be here by now?"

"Calm down, Skye," Paul sighed. "They'll be here eventually."

I grumbled, pacing around in the middle of the path. It had been two days and every time we crossed Team Aqua I barely managed to avoid getting caught.

"Would you settle down already!?" Paul growled. "I'm getting dizzy just watching you!"

I sighed and sat down, still in the middle of the path, looking to make sure no one was going to run me over. I could have gone to the Gym, but I only had one Pokemon with me. The others were with my friends.

I saw Team Aqua coming down the path and I stood up, walking over to Paul and leaning against a wall.

I looked the other way and my eyes shone when I saw them.

"GUYS!" I called and knocked my hat off, taking my hood down and running over to my friends.

"SKYE!" Sara called and I stopped right in front of Brawly. Sara reached into her bag.

"Hi," I smiled up at him.

Brawly looked down at me and took a deep breath. He put his hands on my shoulders and leaned down to me. I leaned back for a second, not catching on, but then he kissed me.

I was stunned. _What... the... hell_?

All of a sudden, there was a bright flash and I stepped away from Brawly to see Sara standing beside us with a camera in her hands.

"I thought I said no camera," Brawly blinked.

"No, you said no camera _crews_," Sara smirked.

"Um...... What was that for?" I asked.

"....................................................................................." Brawly looked down at me, but then a smile crossed his face as he turned around and looked at Ash.

Ash had turned away, his body tensed up and his arms crossed.

"Wow, so that's what he looks like when he's jealous...." Gary murmured.

"I knew it," Brawly said. "So, you did get jealous, huh, Ash?"

"No," Ash growled.

"Yeah you did," Brawly turned back to me. "Sorry about that. Sara dared me, and we all wanted to see if Ash would get jealous."

I blinked. "Um.. no problem...."

Paul came over and Sara held the camera up, taking a picture of him with the flash on. "Hi, Pauly-boy!" she smiled. "Oh, wait................ Skye? Doesn't Pauly-boy like you?"

I nodded. "Yeah, he does."

Sara looked back to Paul. "Awww... Poor little Pauly-boy, lost his chance with Skye!"

"More competition?" Brawly muttered. "Geez, how many people like you?"

"Just three," I held up three fingers.

"Um.... Skye?"

"Yeah? If you want to tease Paul, don't, cause he helped me out for the past two days."

"No.. Skye?"

"What? If you want to take a picture of him go ahead."

"SKYE!" Sara said and I turned around to where Sara was pointing.

"Oh..." I muttered. "I forgot about them."

"Those are Team Aqua, right?" Gary asked.

I nodded and glanced at Sara, seeing the tiny smirk on her face and her hands gripped the camera.

Mia and Shaun came over. "There you are, you little pest!" Mia growled. "We've been looking for you for two days!" Mia was actually looking at Sara.

Sara blinked. "I'm not Skye," she said simply. She pointed at me. "That's Skye. SMILE!" She held up the camera and took a picture. The flash was extra bright and I spun around to stop myself from being blinded, accidentally crashing into Brawly's chest. I looked up at him. "Hi... ow...."

"RUN!" Sara yelled and she turned and bolted. I realized that because Mia and Shaun were covering their eyes, they were blinded. We all turned and ran off, even Paul tagged along.

"So, where's Sparky?" Brawly asked me.

"In its Pokeball," I replied. "I thought it would be better. Team Aqua wouldn't recognize me easily that way."

"Fair enough," Brawly said.

I thought for a moment and growled. "PAUL!"

"What?"

"You idiot! Why don't you just send out your Ursaring!?"

We all pulled to a stop as more Team Aqua guys showed up in front of us. I looked over my shoulder and saw Mia and Shaun. I stepped closer to Brawly and put my arms around his waist. "Paul, now would be a good idea," I muttered.

Brawly looked down at me and put an arm around me.

Paul sighed, grabbing a Pokeball. "Ursaring, stand by."

Ursaring appeared and my grip on Brawly tightened, he noticed. "Is this the reason you woke up the whole city?"

I nodded.

Paul looked at the group of Team Aqua guys. "Ursaring, use Hyper Beam."

Ursaring opened its mouth and a golden sphere appeared. It got bigger and bigger until Ursaring let it go. It shot out at Team Aqua like a golden beam of light. Team Aqua jumped back just in time.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called.

"Pika-CHUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Pikachu said and electrocuted them all.

Sara turned around. "Glaceon, let's go!"

Glaceon appeared and faced Mia and Shaun.

"Glaceon, use Ice Beam!" Sara called.

Glaceon shot an Ice Beam at Mia and Shaun and froze them.

We all heard clapping and I saw a guy step out of the alley where the rest of the Team Aqua guys came. It was Archie himself, clapping.

"You really are brilliant Trainers," he commented and looked at Brawly. "Aren't you the Gym Leader of Dewford Town?"

"Former Gym Leader," Brawly replied and looked down at me.

"Skye, why did you run away?" Archie asked.

"I told you I would," I growled. "I said as soon as I got off the ship I was taking off!"

"And you spent a whole two days avoiding us," Archie smiled. "I'm impressed."

"It helps when you have a friend that's smart enough to make me look like a guy," I smirked. "Oh yeah, thanks Paul."

"Well, you're coming with us now," Archie growled.

"I don't have to," I leaned my head against Brawly's chest.

"Why do you want Skye anyway?" Gary asked.

"You didn't get the note?" Archie asked.

"We did," Brawly growled. "What's this prophecy about?"

"It has Skye in it," Archie smiled. "And we're determined to stop it from coming true."

"I am NOT the one in the damn prophecy!" I growled, letting go of Brawly and stepping in front of the group. "How many times do I have to say it!? I'M NOT THE ONE YOU'RE LOOKING FOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS STUPID PROPHECY AND IT'S NOT EVEN ME! YOU HAVE THE WRONG PERSON SO BACK OFF AND LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"It doesn't matter how much you deny it, child, you are Skye, the one in the prophecy," Archie said. "And you will help Team Aqua."

"I don't think so," I growled. "I'll beat you to a pulp right now to prove it!" I was about to step forward but someone held me back, holding me against their stomach. I looked up to see Brawly.

"Skye, don't," Brawly told me.

"Why not? I'm sick of everyone thinking I'm this 'Chosen One' and if I have to, I'll smash whoever brings it up again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Sara gulped but didn't say anything.

"Calm down," Brawly said.

Archie smiled. "I see you've found yourself a boyfriend, eh, Skye?"

I growled. "Yeah, so what? Why do you care?!"

Archie started laughing, so did the other Team Aqua guys. I growled again and tried to step forward, but Brawly pulled me back, holding me against him.

"LET ME GO!!!!!!!!!!!!" I yelled, but Brawly didn't move. "Brawly, please, let me go!"

"No, because then you'll go hurting people," Brawly replied.

"Well I've already kicked her in the face!" I pointed to the Team Aqua girl that I had annoyed the other day and ended up kicking in the face.

"Let her go, Brawly," Archie smiled. "Let's see what she does."

Brawly looked up at Archie and shook his head.

"Why not?" Archie smiled. "Scared that we'll take her away from you again?"

"Yeah, sorta," Brawly smiled back, evilly. "And you're not getting her again."

"Archie, you have no business here."

I would have looked around me if I could, but Brawly was there. Someone walked through our group with a whole lot of other people, standing in front of us. The females wore dark gray skirts with dark gray shirts, a red over shirt that reached their ribs with a black symbol on it and a hood with three black spikes on it, as well as red wrist warmers, black gloves, red leg warmers, black shoes, and a red belt. The guys had all the same, except they had dark gray pants.

"Who are they?" I whispered curiously.

Archie growled, the other Team Aqua members stood in front of him.

"What business do you have with Miss Skye?" one of the new guys asked Archie, I tilted my head.

_Miss_? I thought. _Never been called that before_.....

"Team Magma," Archie said, coming through his line of men, and women. "We simply wish to talk with her."

"We know your intentions," the guy said again. "She is not to go with you. We have strict orders from Maxie not to let you take her."

"So Maxie can have her?" Archie asked.

"No, that's not the case," the girl beside him said. "This prophecy thing is getting out of hand, and you have no right to disrupt it."

Archie growled. "Fine. We'll stay away from her, for now." He turned and left, his people following him.

The new people turned to us and Brawly finally let me go.

"Are you alright, Miss Skye?" the girl asked me.

"I'm okay," I replied. "Who are you?"

The guy looked down at me. "We are Team Magma, and we are against Team Aqua."

"I can see that," I muttered. "Who are you?"

"My name is Blake," the guy said.

"My name is Tessa," the girl added. "This is only a small group of Team Magma."

Tessa had blue hair, darker than Brawly's hair.

"So, why exactly did you guys rescue us?" I asked.

"Maxie knows about the prophecy. But we believe that once we awaken Groudon-"

"Don't tell me you think I'm the 'Skye' in the prophecy!?!?!?!?!" I growled.

"It has been a possibility," Tessa said. "But, as I was saying, once we awaken Groudon-"

"Why do you think it's a 'possibility'!?" I growled.

Tessa sighed, trying to control her patience. "Because your name is Skye and there is no one else that we've come across with that name. It has never been heard among Team Magma or Team Aqua."

"Ohhhhh......" I crossed my arms. "I don't care what you say. I'm not the one in the prophecy!"

Brawly put his arms around me again. "Chill out, Skye."

I mumbled something that he didn't catch. "You can say what you were going to say now."

Tessa nodded. "Once we awaken Groudon, we believe that we will be able to control it. So you don't have to worry about saving the world. We will not allow Groudon to come across Kyogre."

"That works," I muttered. "Because I ain't saving the world for nobody!"

"So, why exactly do Team Aqua want with Skye?" Brawly asked.

"They want her to help them awaken Kyogre," Blake explained. "Thinking that she could help them control Kyogre and expand the sea."

"No thanks," I said.

"We'd better be going," Tessa said to Blake. "We need to tell Maxie what happened here."

Blake nodded. "Let's go."

Tessa and Blake started walking off with the rest of the Team Magma people following them.

"They're weird," I muttered and looked up at Brawly. "What do you think?"

Brawly nodded his agreement.

"But do you think Team Aqua will leave Skye alone because Team Magma told them to?" Sara asked.

"I don't think so," Gary replied.

"You'll just have to keep an eye on her until you leave Mauville City," Paul said.

"You're leaving?" I asked, breaking free of Brawly's hold and turning to look at Paul.

Paul nodded. "I had defeated the Gym Leader before you showed up, so I have no reason to stay here any longer."

I sighed. "Alright."

"See ya," Paul said and turned, walking away.

I looked at Sara. "Want me to take my bag back?"

"Yeah," Sara smiled and handed me my bag back. I put it on and got my Pokeballs out, putting them to my belt. I then grabbed Sparky's Pokeball and threw it in the air.

"Sparky, let's go!" I said with a huge smile. Sparky came out of the Pokeball and I put it away. Sparky climbed up to my shoulder and rubbed its cheek against mine. "Hello, Sparky," I laughed.

"Pika, Pi!" Pikachu said, waving to Sparky.

Sparky waved back. "Pikachu, Pi!"

Sparky and Pikachu jumped to the ground and hugged one another.

"It's good to see you again," Sara smiled. "It was boring putting up with the guys for two whole days." Sara growled. "And you'll never guess what _**Brawly**_ told Gary to do to me!"

I looked at Brawly. "What did you tell Gary to do to her?"

"I told him to kiss her," Brawly smirked. "Ash said it would shut her up."

"But it didn't work," Gary growled. "She only got louder!"

"Why isn't that a surprise?" I asked sarcastically. I looked up at Brawly and hugged him. "I missed you guys a lot."

"We missed you too," Brawly replied, hugging me back.

"Let's go to the Pokemon Center," Ash suggested. "Rest for the day and check out the Gym tomorrow."

"Okay," I smiled and let go of Brawly, but he didn't let me go. I turned to walk off, but failed. I sighed and rested my back against his stomach, looking up at him, my head against his chest. He looked down at me. "Can you let me go?"

Brawly smirked. "Why?"

"Cause," I replied and tried to walk away again, failed again. I reached my arms out. "EH! Let go!" I whined like a child, waving my arms in front of me.

Brawly turned me around, picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I growled. "Meanie."

"Now we can go," Brawly said.

Sara smirked and held up her camera. "Smile, Skye!"

I looked at her and there was a bright flash. I was blinded for a few moments but my sight came back. "What was that for!?!?!"

"You didn't smile!" Sara complained. "Can I take another picture?!"

"No," I growled.

"Too bad!" Sara took another blinding picture, I didn't smile.

"Brawly, put me down!" I whined like a child. "I don't wanna be carried!"

Brawly wasn't paying attention to me. "Come on guys."

My friends started walking towards the Pokemon Center, Sparky and Pikachu walked with each other. Sara was skipping a few feet behind Brawly, taking a thousand pictures of me over Brawly's shoulder. I sighed and rested my chin on my hand. Sara kept skipping.

"SMILE!" Sara complained. "Your face will freeze that way if you don't smile every once in a while you know!"

"Does it look like I care?" I mumbled.

".................... Yes."

I cocked an eyebrow at her and she blinked at me.

"Okay... maybe not..."

"Precisely."

"Party-pooper!" Sara muttered and skipped over to Gary. "Smile, Gary!"

Gary looked at Sara and was blinded by the camera flash.

"SARA!" Gary growled.

"Sorry," Sara smiled innocently and took another picture, the camera right in his face.

"SARA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Gary growled again and Sara ran past Brawly to hide behind Ash.

"HELP ME!" Sara screamed, making Ash flinch.

"If you stop screaming I might," Ash murmured.

"SORRY!" Sara yelped, making Ash flinch again.

"Is she ever quiet?" I asked.

"Nope," Brawly replied.

"Oh, so you are listening to me?" I muttered. "So..... can you put me down?"

"Hey, Ash, don't protect Sara, let Gary get her," Brawly said.

I growled and hit him on the back with one of my fists. "Stop ignoring me!"

"Oh sorry, did you say something?" Brawly asked.

"Brawly, you're supposed to listen to your girlfriend, not ignore her," Sara said, appearing in front of Brawly and making him stop before he fell over.

"Sara," I growled. "Give up on that."

"But you are boyfriend and girlfriend!" Sara smiled. "He kissed you so that pretty much decided it!"

"Well what about you?" I said and Sara walked behind Brawly to look at me. "Gary kissed you. That means you and him are boyfriend and girlfriend."

Sara muttered something and blinded me with her flashy camera.

I growled and Sara ran off, hiding behind Ash again.

"Hey, Ash, hold her for me," Gary said.

"Why?" Ash asked.

"Just do it."

Ash looked down at Sara. She raised her camera but Ash took it and grabbed her.

She yelped. "LET ME GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Ash flinched again.

Gary came over and looked down at Sara. She blinked up at him, putting on the puppy eyes and puppy pout. Gary shook his head. She growled and when he went to grab her.......

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Ash let her go and she took off towards the Pokemon Center, Pikachu and Sparky ran with her just for the fun of it. Ash and Gary exchanged glances and looked back at Brawly. "See you there," Gary said and they ran after Sara.

"So, now that you have no one to talk to, to help you ignore me, can you please put me down?" I asked.

"Sure," Brawly said and threw me back over his shoulder, 'accidentally' dropping me and making me fall to the ground. "Whoops. Sorry, Skye."

I crossed my arms and looked up at him. "No you're not, Mr. Tall Person!"

"Well, how can I make it up to you?" he sighed.

I thought for a moment and kicked his legs, making him fall over too. "That," I replied childishly.

Brawly sat up. "Ow!"

"Your fault," I poked my tongue out at him.

Brawly sighed and stood up, helping me up as well. We walked towards the Pokemon Center together. "I wonder if they're gonna catch Sara," Brawly muttered.

"I don't think so," I replied. "Not with that scream of hers."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I looked up at him. "What did I tell ya?"

Brawly shook his head. "She's dangerous with that scream."

"Worse than me."

"That's hard to believe."

"LET!!!!!!!!!!!! ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! _**GO**_!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Still think so?" I asked.

"Nope."

"Thought so."

Brawly laughed and put his arm around me. I blinked as I saw Sara running back and right past us.

"HI! BYE!" Sara yelled and was gone. Ash and Gary, including Pikachu and Sparky, ran past us to catch up with Sara.

Brawly and I looked over our shoulders to watch them, but they were gone. We shrugged and continued walking to the Pokemon Center. Tomorrow Ash and I would challenge the Gym Leader.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"WAKE UP!"

I mumbled and rolled over.

"SKYE!" Sara whined in her child voice. "WAKE UP!"

"Why?" I muttered.

"Cause!"

"Cause why?"

"Cause."

"That doesn't help."

"Fine, I'll wake up one of the guys to help me."

"What did you do?"

"I can't open this cookie jar."

"Why not?"

"Cause, it's stuck."

I rolled over again and opened my eyes to see Sara pull Gary off the top bunk and step back to watch him land on the floor face first. Gary lied there for a few seconds before turning his head. "What was that for?" he asked.

Sara sat down on his back, trying to pull the lid off the cookie jar.

I sighed and sat up, getting out of bed and walking over. "Sara, give me the jar."

Sara blinked at me and gave it to me. I held it with one hand and twisted the lid, it came off. I handed it back to Sara. She smiled widely and started eating the cookies out of the jar.

"Skye, a little help, please," Gary muttered.

"Help yourself," I mumbled. "I'm going back to bed." I turned and crawled back into my bed, pulling the blanket over my head and falling back asleep.

Sara stopped mid-cookie and looked down at Gary, he looked back up at her, glaring. She turned and lied down on him, looking at the ceiling as she ate. Gary was squashed.

"You're heavy," Gary murmured.

Sara stopped eating and growled. She lifted her head a little and slammed it back down, her head against his.

"OW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Gary yelled and I jumped up, blinking at them. Ash and Brawly woke up too.

"That's what you get!" Sara growled in a kids voice.

"What is going on?" Brawly asked.

"Dunno," I muttered and lied down again, trying to go back to sleep.

Ash and Brawly got out of bed and looked down at Sara lying on Gary. She looked up at them with a childish glare and shoved a cookie in her mouth.

"Guys.. help," Gary growled.

"You can help him," Brawly said to Ash. "I'd rather not get beaten up, well, hit, by a girl."

Brawly walked over to me. "So.. when are you getting up."

"Not today," I muttered. "Too tired."

"Don't you have a Gym battle today?"

I rolled over and looked up at him. I waved my hand in his face and rolled over again, pulling the blanket over my head. "It can wait until tomorrow......................... or next week."

Brawly sighed and took my warm blanket off of me. He picked me up and carried me over to the table, sitting me down in one of the chairs. I looked up at him and glared before getting back up and trying to walk back to bed. Brawly put his foot in front of mine and I tripped, falling on my face.

I rolled onto my back and glared at him again. "What was that for?"

"I thought you'd wake up," Brawly said.

"Does it look like I'm awake?"

"Yep."

I rolled onto my side and curled up. "I'll sleep anywhere, I don't care. Too tired...... good night."

Ash looked at Brawly. "It's true. She would sleep anywhere just so long as she gets her sleep."

Brawly looked back at Ash, and then at Sara stuffing her face with cookies, sometimes missing her mouth. "Aren't you helping Gary?"

Ash looked at Sara and back to Brawly. "Nope."

"Thanks!" Gary growled.

"No worries."

Brawly looked back down at me. He nudged me with his foot. "Get up lazy."

I got up and looked at his foot. I then wrapped my arms around his leg and curled up again, nearly falling back asleep.

Brawly tried to get me to let go, but he ended up tripping over, onto his back. I let go of his leg, got on my hands and knees, crawled over to him and curled up again, my head on his chest. "You're comfy."

"Well, you're not sleeping on me," Brawly muttered.

"Too bad."

"You are so lazy in the morning."

"Yep."

"Lazier than a Slakoth."

"Some boyfriend you are," I mumbled.

"When have you considered me your boyfriend?" Brawly asked.

I shrugged. "Now?"

"O...kay."

"Do you think of me as your girlfriend?"

Brawly was silent. "........................................" he looked at Ash, Sara and Gary, they were all looking at him.

"Well?" I mumbled.

"Take a wild guess," Brawly murmured.

"No?"

"Idiot, of course I do."

"Oh........ My........ Gosh.................. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara screamed and I jumped up, finally awake.

"What?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

Sara was clapping her hands together. "Yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay!!!!!!!!!!"

Brawly sat up. "Huh?"

"YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"SHUT UP!" Gary growled.

Sara stopped clapping and growled, slamming her head down against his again before clapping again.

"OW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Gary yelled. "Ash, if you don't help me, you're dead!"

"And you're dead if you touch me!" Sara glared at Ash.

"That means I can't help Gary," Ash muttered.

"That's the point," Sara smirked evilly. "So don't even bother."

"Ash," Gary growled.

Ash thought for a moment. "Sorry, but I don't feel like getting killed by her."

"But either way you're gonna die!" Gary growled.

"I have a solution!" I smiled.

Sara blinked at me, so did everybody else.

"SPARKY! USE THUNDERBOLT!"

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara jumped up just in time, wrapping her arms around Ash to stop herself from falling back down and Gary was electrocuted, then she lied back down on him.

I smiled. "Is Gary gonna be quiet now?"

"Skye," Gary muttered. "You're dead too."

"You wouldn't get near me," I poked my tongue out at him.

"Make a bet?"

"Yeah, actually," Brawly said.

"Oh, right... Sorry, Brawly!" Gary exclaimed, sounding a little scared.

"That's what I thought," I smirked and turned to look at Brawly, hugging him, tackling him to the ground and lying on him.

Ash rolled his eyes and sat down, watching Sara stuff her face with cookies and Brawly trying to get me off of him.

After a while, we settled down and got ready to go to the Gym. Sara had finished all her cookies.

We walked out of the room and towards the Gym, Sparky was on my shoulder.

We came to the Gym and Ash looked at me. "You can battle him first."

"Thanks," I smiled and we walked in. I saw a huge battlefield. "Wow."

We walked in, we were the only ones in the room.

"HELLOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara called. "ANYONE HERE!?!?!?!?"

"Sara, keep it down!" Ash growled.

"Why?"

"This place is creepy."

"No it's not."

"Yeah it is," I added. "It's too quiet, there's no one here but us and its a little dark."

Sara was about to reassure us, but there was a loud 'BANG!' and a giant Pokemon appeared. It was yellow with black stripe patterns on it, with a white stomach, white on its head and a purple cape-like fur things on its back, a blue thunderbolt like tail, huge claws and huge white teeth.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara and I screamed together.

The Pokemon looked at us and let out a huge roar. We screamed again. Sara ran back and crashed into Gary, hiding behind him. I ran back and hugged Brawly tightly.

"It's a Raikou!" Gary exclaimed.

"A _**WHAT**_!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?" I nearly screamed.

"It's a legendary Pokemon!" Ash said.

"I KNOW WHAT THE HECK IT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT'S A POKEMON LIKE THAT DOING IN THIS GYM!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" I screamed this time.

"Calm down, Skye," Brawly said, hugging me back.

"Pika!" Sparky growled as the Raikou stepped forward, growling loudly. Sparky ran at it.

"SPARKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed. I let go of Brawly and tried running over to Sparky, but he wouldn't let me.

"Stay here!" he said.

"SPARKY GET BACK HERE!" I kept screaming.

Sparky jumped in the air and its tail shone white. It slammed its tail down on Raikou's head and there was a huge explosion.

"Sparky!" Sara called.


	13. Even friends try to kill each other

I struggled to get free of Brawly's grip, but he refused to let me go.

"Wait, Skye," Ash said and I stopped, looking at the smoke, scared for my Pokemon.

The smoke cleared and I saw Sparky standing up, looking up at the Raikou. Electric shocks went through the massive Pokemon's body and I heard someone laughing.

I saw an elderly looking man walk out towards us, laughing. "Sorry if my robot startled you."

"ROBOT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Sara exclaimed.

"Yes. I made this robot Raikou," he laughed. He looked at me. "Your Pokemon was very brave to attack it."

Brawly finally let me go and I bolted over to Sparky, picking it up and backing away from the robot. "Who the heck are you?" I asked.

"I am Wattson, the Gym Leader of this City," he replied.

I growled. "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING SENDING SOME STUPID ROBOT OUT HERE TO GROWL AT US AND SCARE US HALF TO DEATH!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

"YEAH, YOU MADE US SCREAM OUR LUNGS OUT JUST BECAUSE SOME ROBOT JUMPED OUT OF NOWHERE AND WE THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO ATTACK US!?!?!?! THAT'S NOT FUNNY THAT'S JUST STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I growled and put Sparky down, about to run over to Wattson and show him how funny it really was! But Brawly ran over and grabbed me around the waist. "Skye! Calm down!"

"SPARKY COULD HAVE GOTTEN HURT ALL BECAUSE OF HIS STUPID ROBOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"I know, but just calm down, please!"

I sighed and turned around, hugging Brawly.

"What's the point of sending a robot out to scare us?" Gary asked.

"It's all just fun and games," Wattson laughed.

I growled. "ALL JUST FUN A GAMES!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? MY POKEMON NEARLY GOT REALLY HURT AND YOU CALL THIS _**FUN AND GAMES**_!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

"I'm sorry if I upset you," Wattson said and I turned around. "It was not intentionally meant to nearly hurt your Pokemon."

"I challenge you to a Gym Battle!" I demanded. "And after that you can't refuse!"

Wattson smiled and nodded. "Very well."

"Come on," Brawly said and pulled me over to the white box I would have to stand in. Sparky followed.

I stood in the white box, Brawly stayed with me for a few seconds while the others went to go sit down. "Good luck," Brawly said and I felt his lips touch my cheek before he went to join the others.

"AWW!!! BRAWLY!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Sara growled.

"What?"

"YOU DIDN'T GIVE ME TIME TO GET OUT MY CAMERA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Brawly shrugged. "Your loss."

"DO IT AGAIN!"

"Maybe later."

Sara crossed her arms stubbornly, mumble-talking to herself.

"Are you ready?" Wattson asked me as his Raikou Robot left the battlefield.

I nodded, but was thinking. _Okay, he specializes with Electric Type Pokemon...... Buizel won't have a chance. Dark Type Pokemon might not do a lot of damage and Electric against Electric won't do very well either.... I'm stuck here_.......

"It will be a three-on-three battle," Wattson said.

_Great.... Looks like Sparky, Poochyena and Absol are up_, I thought. "That's fine with me." Sparky jumped up on my shoulder.

I waited for a referee to arrive, but there was none. "No referee?"

Wattson sighed. "No, my last referee quit to get a better job."

"Isn't there anyone that can be a referee?" I asked.

"Hey, Brawly, you do it," Sara said. "After all, you were a Gym Leader."

"Brawly!?" Wattson stared closely at him. "What are you doing so far from Dewford Town?"

"I quit as a Gym Leader," Brawly answered. "Justin took over for me while I traveled with these guys."

Wattson shrugged and cleared his throat. "Okay, could you please be our referee?"

"Sure," Brawly said and stood up, standing at the side-lines. "What are the rules?" he asked Wattson.

"When all three Pokemon from one side are down the winner is decided. No substituting," Wattson replied.

Brawly nodded. "Alright, the battle can begin."

Wattson grabbed a Pokeball and threw it. "Voltorb! Let's go!"

I saw a Pokemon appear, it looked like a Pokeball with eyes! I growled and thought carefully. _Which Pokemon should I choose first_?

"Pika, Pi!" Sparky said.

I looked at Sparky. "Are you sure?"

"Pikachu!" Sparky nodded.

I nodded back and pointed to the battlefield, my arm straight. "Do it, Sparky!"

Sparky ran down my arm and jumped onto the field. "Pika!" it growled at Voltorb.

Wattson laughed. "You're kidding!?" he said. "Electric Types don't do well against other Electric Types. You're sure to lose!"

"Other way around," I growled.

Wattson smirked. "Voltorb, use Charge."

Voltorb started charging up.

"Sparky, use Thunderbolt!"

Sparky jumped up into the air. "Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" A strong electric shock came from Sparky's body, electrocuting Voltorb.

There was an explosion and Voltorb fell back, knocked out.

"Voltorb is unable to battle," Brawly called.

"Wow.... Sparky....." I murmured. _How did it get so much power from_?

Wattson returned his Pokemon, a shocked expression on his face. "That Pikachu is very powerful," he said.

_I wish I could say I knew that_, I thought. _Sparky has never been this strong. One hit and Voltorb was out. What's going on_?

"Okay, next Pokemon!" Wattson threw another Pokeball. "Manectric! Let's go!"

A Manectric appeared, growling quietly.

"Pika!" Sparky growled back.

"Let's do this," I said. "Sparky! Use Thunderbolt!"

Sparky let out a huge Thunderbolt and hit Manectric. Manectric was out straight away.

My body tensed. _Something's wrong. Sparky usually isn't this powerful! What could have happened to make it this strong_!? I was struck as I realized why it would have happened. _The explosion that happened when Sparky hit the Raikou Robot with its tail. The electricity coming off the robot must have effected Sparky and gave it a supercharge_!

Wattson returned his Pokemon, blinking at Pikachu. "Here goes, my strongest Pokemon. Magneton! Let's go!"

The Pokemon looked like three spheres put together, one eye each with magnets all over them.

I took a deep breath, Sparky might have some trouble if this was Wattson's strongest Pokemon.

"Magneton, use Thunder!" Wattson ordered.

I growled. "Sparky, you use Thunder, too!"

Magneton and Sparky charged up. Magneton fired first. "Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!"

The two Thunder attacks collided and it was so powerful that the ground trembled. My balance was altered and I fell back. I sat up to see what happened to Sparky, but there was an explosion and smoke was everywhere.

I coughed as some of the smoke got in my mouth and I accidentally breathed it in. "Sparky!?" I choked out.

The smoke finally cleared and I saw Sparky standing there, standing tall. Magneton was on the ground, knocked out.

"Magneton is unable to battle," Brawly announced. "Sparky wins."

Wattson returned his Pokemon, the battle was over.

I was shaken, blinking at Sparky. That was a quick battle.

Brawly and the others ran over to me, including Sparky. Brawly crouched down beside me. "You alright?"

I coughed, my chest hurt. I held my stomach tight, trying to catch my breath. All I felt was the fiery pain in my chest each time I coughed.

"Pika?" Sparky tilted its head.

"I'm alright," I coughed. "That was great, Sparky. I'm impressed." Each word was hard to get out. The smoke that I breathed in hurt like crazy!

"We should take her to Nurse Joy," Gary suggested.

Brawly nodded and picked me up in his arms.

"Wait," Wattson said, walking over to us. I looked over to him and he held out something in his hand. The Gym Badge, the Dynamo Badge. "You've earned it."

"Thank you," I said and took it.

"We need to go now," Brawly said.

Ash nodded. "I'll come back tomorrow to battle you, Wattson."

Wattson nodded and my friends rushed back to the Pokemon Center, I was coughing most of the way. Sparky jumped up to Brawly's shoulder, looking down at me.

I smiled at Sparky and Brawly, but then I rested my head against Brawly's chest and fell asleep, still coughing.

"Pika?" Sparky said.

"Don't worry, Sparky," Brawly said. "She'll be fine."

"Pika, Pi..."

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Skye? You awake?"

I blinked my eyes open. "I am now," I said in a weak voice, looking up at my friends. Ash wasn't there. "Where's Ash?"

"He went to challenge Wattson," Sara smiled. "You've been asleep nearly all day. Yesterday was a great battle."

"Where's Sparky?" I asked, sitting up quickly.

"Sparky's fine," Gary said. "Getting checked out by Nurse Joy."

"After battling, its power had an overload and it got sick," Brawly told me. "But it will be okay, I'm sure."

I threw the blanket off of me, getting out of bed. "I want to see, Sparky."

Brawly grabbed me and made me sit back down on the bed. "You need rest."

"_**I**_ need to see Sparky!" I growled.

"You will. Just lie back down and we'll bring Sparky in later," Brawly said sternly.

"No!" I growled. "I want to see Sparky, now!" I pushed Brawly out of my way and walked towards the door.

"Skye!" Sara sighed. "Just rest!"

"I've had my rest. I want to see Sparky!" I walked out the door.

Brawly sighed. "I'll go with her. You two go rest."

Sara and Gary nodded and left, Brawly ran after me and caught up.

Skye, please take it easy," Brawly said to me. "The smoke you breathed in was a lot."

"I don't care. I feel fine," I replied, not stopping to look at him.

Brawly took my right hand in his left hand and he walked beside me. He led the way to where Sparky was.

I stopped and looked in the window, Sparky had something on its mouth to help it breathe, and it had wires attached to its cheeks.

"See why I didn't want you to come see Sparky just yet?" Brawly asked. I nodded and he let go of my hand, putting his arm around me.

Nurse Joy saw us looking in the room and she came to the door. "Skye, Sparky will be fine after a short while," she smiled.

I nodded. "Thank you, Nurse Joy. For everything."

She smiled. "Team Aqua is known around these parts and the police haven't been able to stop them from doing what they want, because there is no hard evidence. I was happy to help you."

I nodded again. "Can I see Sparky?"

Nurse Joy smiled and nodded. "Of course."

I walked into the room, with Brawly and Nurse Joy, and I sat next to Sparky's bed.

"Sparky is unconscious at the moment," Nurse Joy explained. "The battle was too powerful for it and its overloaded power. Brawly explained everything that happened. How are you feeling?"

"Better than Sparky more likely," I mumbled.

Brawly put his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I wasn't bothered, I was so used to having him around I was glad he was with me.

I leaned my head on Brawly's shoulder and I fell asleep. Brawly didn't move me, he just sat there with his arms around me, resting his head on mine and nearly falling asleep himself.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Skye hurry up! Get up!"

"Why?"

"Cause, this is our last day in Mauville City!" I heard Sara whine. "I wanna have fun today before we go!"

"I'm not going shopping with you," I muttered to Sara.

"Aw but-"

"Take Gary and Brawly with you," I said and sat up. "I wanna hang out with Ash for a little while today."

Sara blinked at me. "Um..... okay."

I got out of bed and walked over to Ash. He looked up at me. "You alright?"

I nodded. "Do you want to go for a walk?" I asked.

Ash looked at Brawly, as if asking permission. Brawly nodded, noticing my expression. Ash looked up at me again and stood up. "Sure."

I grabbed my bag and so did Ash. "Sparky, Pikachu. Come on," I said. "Brawly?"

"Yeah?"

"Have fun shopping with Sara," I said and walked out the door, Ash, Pikachu and Sparky following me.

Ash had Pikachu on his shoulder, Sparky was on my shoulder. We walked side by side through the city, out towards the forest.

"Where are we going?" Ash asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "I just felt like being around you today."

Ash didn't speak again, although I knew he had many questions.

We were in the forest, getting deeper and deeper in, but then when I found a river and a log that we could sit on, I stopped. I put my bag down and sat on the log, Ash did the same and sat beside me.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Ash...." I started.

"Yeah? What?"

"I'm sorry."

Ash blinked. "Sorry... for what?"

It took me a few seconds to speak. "It nearly happened with Paul and it is happening now."

"Oh..." Ash sighed. "You mean you and Brawly?"

I nodded. "I can't help but want to be with Brawly."

"It's not your fault," Ash replied. "You like him."

I shrugged. "I know.... but I'm still sorry..."

"You don't have to say how sorry you are," Ash sighed. "I'm not bothered that you and Brawly are together."

"You were at the beginning."

"I know. But you know how I felt about you."

"Yeah. I know."

"I just don't see how you like him so much," Ash muttered.

"What?"

"You heard what I said. He's just a guy that flirts with you. He only kissed you because Sara dared him too."

"What's your point?"

"Geez, chill out! Why are you so temperamental!?"

"Temperamental!?!?!?!?! You're the one that's such a control-freak!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Ash and I stood up, fists clenched, growling at each other. Pikachu and Sparky jumped down to the log.

"Oh yeah!? You're the one always running off and being such a baby!!!!!!!" Ash growled at me.

"Well you're so serious all the time it's hard to think of you as a human and not some dumb robot!!!!!!!!" I growled back at him.

"Being serious is better than being a child all the time!!!!!"

"No it's not! I'd rather be childish than serious!!!!!!"

"That's because you are childish and not serious!!!! You're also **stubborn**!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I'M STUBBORN!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

"Well for starters, the whole prophecy thing!!!!!!!!" Ash growled. "You're so stubborn that you can't accept the fact that it could possibly be you!!!! And the way you talk about not caring about what happens to the world and that someone else can save it if the prophecy comes true!!!!! You are the most stubborn person I have ever met!!!!!!!!!!"

"Pi, Pikachu!!!!!" Sparky and Pikachu were panicking.

I let out a snarl. "I couldn't care less about the prophecy!" my voice was quiet, but angry. "I thought you of all people knew how to shut up about the stupid prophecy because you know how much I hate it!"

"Well that's your problem!!!!!" Ash growled back. "Whether you want a part in it or not, it might be you!!!!!!!!! So try getting over yourself once in a while and start being more of a Pokemon Trainer than a stuck up little child!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"I am a Pokemon Trainer!" I snapped. "And don't you dare call me a child again!" I lifted one of my fists.

"Fine!" Ash growled. "_**BABY**_!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"CONTROL FREAK!!!!!!!!!!!" I snarled. "You don't care about anything just so long as you get your own way!!!!!!"

"I don't see how I could ever have liked you!" Ash growled.

"And I don't see how _**I**_ ever could have liked a stupid, idiotic, controlling, jealous _**loser **_like_**you**_!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Ash growled. "That's it!"

Ash threw a fist at me and got me in the jaw. I threw my fist forward and got him in the stomach. Bad thing was, a guy was stronger, so Ash was more likely to have a better advantage over me. Not like I cared.

"PIKA!" Sparky and Pikachu said as I tripped Ash over and sat on his stomach, repeatedly punching him in the face. He grabbed my right shoulder with his right hand and with his left hand, he punched me in the gut, making me stand up and back off. He got up and punched me in the face, but I punched him right back.

Sparky and Pikachu exchanged glances and looked back at us. "Pika-CHUUUUUUUU!!!!" they shocked us with a Thunderbolt, but that didn't stop us.

I punched Ash in the jaw and he got me in the stomach. Then he grabbed my hair and threw me back against a tree. He held me by the throat with his left hand and punched me over and over again with his right hand.

"Pika, Pi!" Sparky said to Pikachu and they ran over to us. They tried pulling Ash away from me, but they were so little it wouldn't work.

I cringed every time I was hit in the stomach and I grabbed his right arm before he could punch me again. He tore his arm out of my grip but my nails left a big scratch. Blood rose up from it, though it wasn't deep. He punched me in the stomach again, but I punched him in the eye, knocking his hat off.

"Pika!" Sparky said to me but I didn't listen, I punched Ash in the jaw.

Pikachu grabbed Ash's hat in its mouth and turned to Sparky. "Pika!" it mumbled. "Pika, Pikachu!"

Sparky nodded and they both ran off, Pikachu carrying Ash's hat in its mouth.

"You hit like an old lady!" I growled at Ash.

"You can't hit at all!" Ash growled back and I managed to trip him over, sitting on his stomach again, holding his arms down with my knees. I started punching him over and over again in the face with both hands, he couldn't do anything.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"PIKA, PI!"

Everyone stared at Sparky and Pikachu as they ran around Mauville City with Ash's hat in Pikachu's mouth.

The two little Pokemon searched everywhere, looking for Sara and the others. They looked everywhere they could think of.

"Pika, Pi!" Sparky said.

Pikachu shrugged. "Pikachu, Pika!"

Sparky was upset, and scared. Pikachu was the same.

"OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Pikachu and Sparky stopped and turned to see Sara in front of a window, her hands pressed against it. Brawly and Gary sighed, but they weren't carrying anything. Sara hadn't found anything until now. Pikachu and Sparky ran over to them as fast as they could.

"PIKA, PIKACHU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sparky called and the three Trainers looked down at them.

"Sparky? Pikachu?" Brawly muttered. "What's wrong?"

"PIKA, PI, PIKACHU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sparky said, pointing in the direction of me and Ash in the forest. "PIKACHU, PIKA!"

"Huh?" Sara crouched down and Pikachu held the hat up to her. She took it. "Where's Ash and Skye?"

"PIKA!" Sparky turned to Sara. "PIKACHU!"

"They're in trouble?" Gary mumbled.

Sparky sighed and lightly hit Pikachu across the face, Pikachu did the same.

"Not good," Sara muttered.

"What's going on?" Brawly asked.

"Can't you see!?!?!" Sara growled as Sparky and Pikachu continued their play-fight.

Brawly and Gary looked at Sara. "Don't tell me they started fighting?!" Gary said.

"Ash wouldn't hurt Skye, would he?" Brawly asked, nervous.

"Ash doesn't care if he hits a girl!" Sara growled. "He fights anyone, no matter what!"

Brawly growled. "If he's hurt Skye, he's dead!"

"He probably already has!" Sara growled back and stood up, putting the hat in her bag. "Let's go!"

Pikachu and Sparky turned and ran down the path towards the forest, Sara, Brawly and Gary ran after them.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Is that all you got?" I asked as I knocked Ash to the ground. Blood was dripping from my mouth, and my nose, I had bruises all over my arms and my breathing was shallow.

Ash tripped me over by kicking my legs behind the knees. He got up and sat on my stomach, punching me in the face repeatedly, my arms pinned down by his knees. He was smart enough to catch onto my trick. I tore one of my arms free and palmed him in the chest, winding him for a few moments.

Ash stood up, holding his chest and trying to breathe. I lifted my legs and put my feet together, kicking up and getting him in the stomach.

I flipped backwards and landed in a crouch. I stood up and walked over to him, smashing him in the face with my right fist. I wasn't the only one with blood coming from my mouth and nose.

Ash growled and recovered, he then did the same thing and palmed me in the chest. He then punched me in the face, getting close to my eye.

I stumbled back, crouching down, holding my chest, I was winded worse than I got him. I growled and tried to breathe. Ash walked over and kicked me in the face, sending me flying. I hit the ground and sat up, standing up before he reached me. I punched him in the face and knocked him over. I sat on his stomach, not caring if I pinned his arms down or not. I could hardly breathe, but I continuously punched him in the face.

"SKYE!" someone grabbed me and pulled me off of Ash, holding me around the waist so I couldn't get at him.

Ash stood up and was about to come at me, but Sara and Gary got in his way and held him down. I figured that the person holding me was Brawly.

"Skye, calm down!" Brawly growled at me.

"LET ME GO!" I snarled and threw my elbow back, hitting Brawly in the gut, making him cringe and let me go. I started walking over to Ash but Brawly grabbed my arms, putting me in a head-lock so even if I decided to kick him, I couldn't get away from him, but that didn't stop me from trying.

"LET! _ME_!_ **GO**_!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed.

"Chill out, Skye!" Brawly growled. "Calm down!"

"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed again. "I'M GONNA KILL HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I looked up at Ash, it took both Sara and Gary to hold him back from getting to me. But suddenly, I couldn't breathe and I started gasping for air. Brawly let me out of the head-lock and I fell to my knees, he crouched down beside me.

"Skye!?" he exclaimed.

"Can't.... breathe!!" I gasped.

Brawly growled and looked up at Ash. Brawly left my side and I looked up to see him walking over to Ash.

"Brawly," Sara said warningly, but Brawly wasn't listening. She got in his way and he stopped, grabbing her shoulders and moving her out of the way, he put one hand on her shoulder to stop her from getting in his way again, then he punched Ash in the face, sending him flying back into the water.

"Brawly!" Sara growled.

"He deserved it!" Brawly growled back.

Sara looked back to me and all three of them ran over.

"Skye, are you alright?" Gary asked.

I shook my head, not able to breathe, and I felt like I was falling into unconsciousness.

"SKYE!" Brawly exclaimed and caught me when I fell sideways.

"What's wrong with her!?" Sara asked.

"She can't breathe," Brawly replied. "Ash must have winded her!"

"Well if she can't breathe, what do we do!?" Sara sounded panicked.

"Pika, Pi!" Sparky was scared.

"I don't know," Gary said. "Probably take her back to the Pokemon Center."

"There's no time!" Sara had tears in her eyes. "She won't make it all the way there without any air!!!!!!"

Gary looked at Brawly. "You know CPR, right?"

Brawly nodded. "Yeah."

Sara looked at him. "Then do it!"

Brawly gulped and the last thing I knew, his lips were against mine.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Skye? Skye, are you alright?"

I opened my eyes and looked around, but my vision was all blurry. "Huh?"

"She's alright!" I heard Sara's voice and my vision became clear again. Sara, Gary and Brawly were standing next to the bed I was in, Ash was at the back of the room, leaning his back against the door, his arms crossed and looking away. He had a black eye, a massive bruise on his cheek, dried blood around his mouth and nose, and he had an angry expression.

"Skye, how are you feeling?" Sara asked.

Ash glanced my way, his eyes cold. I growled and jumped out of the bed, storming over to him. "You bastard!" I snarled.

"Skye, no!" Brawly said and pulled me back.

"If she's got something to say, let her say it," Ash growled.

"Alright. You're a stupid, weak loser and you nearly killed me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I snarled at him again.

"Skye, calm down, please!" Brawly growled at me, but I wasn't listening.

Ash stopped leaning against the door and before he could take one step towards me, Gary stood in his way. "Ash, you should go outside," he said simply.

Ash smirked at me before walking out. "YOU STUPID BASTARD!!!!!!!!!" I yelled after him. "NEXT TIME YOU'RE DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Skye!" Brawly said and turned me around, hugging me. "That's enough!"

The closeness felt weird, it made me a little shaken, I felt like I couldn't breathe again. I put my arms up against Brawly's chest and pushed away from him, breathing deeply again.

"Skye, you should lie back down," Gary said.

I glanced at the door where Ash left before turning and going back to the bed. I sat on it and leaned my back against the wall, refusing to lie down.

"Are you alright?" Sara asked, a little nervous now.

"I was fine being close to death, cause then I wouldn't have to see _him_ again!" I nodded towards the door.

"What happened to make you two so angry?" Gary asked.

"Nothing. Forget it!" I growled.

"Come on, Skye. What happened?" Brawly asked.

"Why does it matter?!?!?!?!"

"It does because _something_ must have made the two of you so angry!" Brawly said.

"Why am I even here?" I asked with a growl.

"Brawly saved your life," Sara said. "You couldn't breathe."

"He saved my life?" I looked at him.

"He did CPR," Sara said.

"It was that or risk you dying taking you to the Pokemon Center," Gary added.

I blinked at Brawly. "Thanks."

"Pika...." I looked to the end of the bed and Sparky and Pikachu jumped up, walking over to me. "Pika?" Sparky said.

"I'm fine," I said.

"You still have blood all over your face," Sara murmured.

"What do you expect?" I laughed a little. "It was a pretty intense fight."

"Which is why we want to know why it happened!" Gary said.

I looked at Brawly and then back down to the bed.

Brawly sighed. "You guys go check on Ash. I'll talk to her."

"Okay," Sara said. "You get it out of her. See ya later." Sara and Gary walked out of the room and I moved to the side a little, Brawly sat on the bed next to me.

"So, what happened?" he asked, wrapping his arms around my waist and I leaned on him.

"I was telling Ash I was sorry," I said. "Because I had decided to go with you and it made him jealous, so I said I was sorry, but I really liked you. A few more things were said and Ash said he didn't see why I liked you in the first place. He said you were just some guy that only kissed me because Sara dared you to and you're just flirting with me and all, and then the argument got worse after that."

"Worse?" Brawly said.

"He said I was stubborn because I didn't want anything with that stupid prophecy, so I called him a control-freak. We said more things and he threw the first punch, then it was all fighting." I looked at Pikachu and Sparky. "They tried getting Ash away from me when he held me by the neck against the tree and punched me over and over in the gut, but it didn't work. Even a Thunderbolt didn't stop us."

"You weren't stunned when Ash first punched you? After all, he is a guy."

"So? I didn't care. I just wanted to punch him out."

Brawly hugged me tightly. "You know you still have to travel with him."

I growled. "Just make sure he doesn't annoy me and everything will be fine."

Brawly nodded. "Don't worry. Sara, Gary and I will make sure you don't start another fight."

"Even though I still wanna kill him," I muttered.

"Pika..." Pikachu said.

I patted Pikachu. "Sorry, buddy."

"You need to clean your face, too," Brawly pointed out. "You have blood on your cheek from when Ash punched you, and it hides a bruise, and you have blood on your nose, and around your mouth."

I smiled. "Yeah. That might be a good idea." I looked up at him. "Thank you, Brawly."

"For what?"

"You saved my life."

"Oh yeah. It wasn't that bad."

"I felt it, ya know," I smirked.

Brawly smiled. "Really?"

"Yep. But then I fell unconscious."

Brawly laughed and made me sit up. "But, did you really mean it when you said you were fine when you were close to death?"

I was silent. "Sorry.... I only said it because I was angry."

"Good," Brawly smiled. "Because what am I supposed to do if you die?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "Like some other girl."

"I could never move on from you," Brawly smiled down at me and took my chin in his hand. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

I smiled back. "Glad to here it."

I noticed him leaning down towards me and I would have moved back if he didn't have my chin in his hand. I gave in and his lips pressed gently against mine, but then got a little more firm. We kissed properly for a few seconds and broke apart. I looked up at him and he looked down at me.

"Now no one can say I'm just a flirt," Brawly smirked. "No one dared me to do that."

I smiled, feeling my cheeks burn up.

"If you keep blushing like that your cheeks might get hurt from the bruises," Brawly teased.

I looked down at Pikachu and Sparky, they had their paws over their mouths trying not to laugh.

I poked my tongue out at them and looked back up to Brawly. "My fault."

"As always. But Skye?"

"Hmm?"

"Try not to get into too many punch-ups."

"I'll try. My mother always said I had fight in me."

"Well you do. You should probably talk to her. It's been a while hasn't it?"

"Yep. Since Dewford Town."

"Well come on, I'll take you to talk to her."

"Um..... Brawly?"

"Yeah?"

I pointed to my face.

"Oh... yeah... Might want to clean up first."

I nodded and got up, Brawly followed me. I went into the bathroom and Brawly went to check on the others. Pikachu and Sparky went with him.

I looked in the mirror, my face was horrible; dried blood was all around my mouth, on my nose, a bit of blood on my cheek where Ash had punched me, a bit of a black eye, just in the corner, a bruise under the blood spot on my cheek. It was scary.

I turned the tap on and washed the blood off my face, but the bruises were still visible. Ash's face looked worse than mine, he was probably still covered in blood, not bothering to clean it off his ugly face.

After I washed my face off, I left the bathroom and went to the waiting room where Brawly and Sara were.

"Where's Gary?" I asked.

"Keeping an eye on Ash," Sara replied. "Ash is really mad."

"That's his problem," I muttered.

Sparky jumped up on my shoulder. "You gonna call your mother now?" Sara asked. I nodded.

We walked over to one of the video phones and I sat down, picking up the phone and dialing the number. After four rings, my mother showed up on the screen and I put it on loudspeaker, putting the phone down. "Hi, mum," I replied.

"Oh, Skye!" she exclaimed. "What happened to you?"

"Uh....." I sighed, realizing she'd only take the truth. "I got into a fight with someone."

"Why? What happened?"

"Just a disagreement."

"What kind of disagreement? Who was it that you got into the fight with?"

"Ash."

"The other boy!? You got into a fight with a boy!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

"Yep. He started it. Anyway. I was just calling to check up on you, not to talk about what happened to me," I knew if I explained what happened I would have to explain the part where I needed CPR from Brawly to save my life, and then my mother would not only be glaring at Brawly, but she would be freaking out and telling me to come home and give up on my Pokemon Journey. "How have you been?"

"I've been fine. Who's this boy?" she asked, looking at Brawly.

"Oh, that's Skye's boyfriend!" Sara smirked. "She met him in Dewford Town. He's the former Gym Leader of that town-"

I glared at Sara and she shut her mouth.

"Her boyfriend!? Skye!"

"What!?"

"How old is he!? He doesn't look your age........"

"Don't worry, Mrs. Skye's mother," Brawly smiled, leaning against the wall that separated the video phones. "I'm only 16."

My mother looked at me. "16!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

"Uh.... yeah......" I couldn't meet eye contact anymore, I glared up at Brawly. He could have said he was 14 or 15, but he _**had**_ to say his real age, didn't he!?!?!

"That is three years difference!" my mother went on. "How could you be so foolish!?!?!"

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" _**BANG**_!!!!!

I looked at the floor and saw Sara lying there, rolling around, holding her stomach, laughing like hell.

"Explain yourself, missy!" my mother growled at me.

"What's wrong with it?" I asked.

My mother sighed and took a deep breath, I knew this was a bad idea to call her. "You have always been irresponsible! Going out with a boy that is three years older than you is very stupid of you to do, Skye!!!!!!!!"

"Don't worry," Brawly said. "I'm taking care of her."

"Taking care of her..... By letting her get beat up!?!?!?!?!"

"I wasn't there," Brawly shrugged honestly. "Skye's Pikachu had to come find me. But don't worry, I punched Ash in the face and sent him into the lake."

I smiled and Brawly picked me up. He sat down on the seat and made me sit on his lap, Sara was still on the ground laughing.

"Skye," my mother said.

"Yes?" I asked, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Can we talk? Without these two?" she asked.

"AW! But, but, but!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just got comfy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I whined. "Fine!"

I stood up and Brawly got up, moving away so I could sit down again. He walked over to Sara. "Come on, you."

Sara put her hands up and he took them, not helping her up, but dragging her across the floor and out of the room.

"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara yelled, still laughing.

I turned back to the screen, my mother had her arms crossed. "How could you be so irresponsible by going out with a boy that is three years older than you?"

"I like him," I murmured. "What's so bad about that?"

"But he sounds like he was a brat as a child."

"So what if he was?"

"He doesn't seem right for you. He wasn't there to help you when you were getting beat up by that boy-"

"I wasn't getting beat up, I was doing half of the fighting. And I like Brawly! I don't care if he's three years older than me. He's my boyfriend and you can't stop me. But I have to go now. See ya," I hung up the phone and the screen went black.

I walked away from the video phone and over to where Brawly had dragged Sara. I found them outside with Ash and Gary. I didn't even glance at Ash, I walked right over to Brawly.

"Did you have to say that you were 16?" I asked. Brawly nodded. I sighed.

"It's the truth," Brawly smiled. "So what if there's three years difference?"

"I guess."

"We should be moving on to Verdanturf Town," Gary said. "Sara has her Contest there in a few days."

"Yeah!" Sara smiled. "Let's get going!"

We all had our stuff so we found no problem with it. Sparky was up on my shoulder and we left Mauville City. I walked on one side of the group, Ash walked on the other side.

It was a quiet walk, no one spoke. Sara was edgy.

"Would you guys stop being so grumpy!?" Sara whined. "This is freaking me out and annoying the hell out of me!!!!!"

"Well get used to it," Ash growled. "There's no way I'm talking to _her_!"

"Stop being so stubborn, Ash!" Sara growled.

"I'm stubborn!?" Ash growled back. "Sara I think you got the wrong person. _She's_ the one that's stubborn!"

Sara growled in frustration. "I give up on you two!"

I glared at Ash, he glared back at me. My eyes caught on the scratch marks I left on his arm, the dried blood was still there, but he didn't have blood on his face anymore. I growled and stubbornly looked away from him, he did the same.

Brawly and Gary sighed. "We're not gonna get anywhere like this," Gary sighed.

After a while, Ash led us away from the trail. I didn't complain because I didn't want to talk to him, it was too bad we had no idea where we were going.

"Ash, would you stop for a while," Gary said after a bit. "You're getting us lost."

"I am not," Ash said as we found a bridge and started to cross it. "We're not lost. We're going in the right direction."

"Yeah right," Sara muttered. "It's not like you haven't gotten us lost before."

"When?"

"Remember in Johto we were headed for that town and you decided to take a short cut?" Sara said. "You got us lost."

"That was an accident. I know where I'm going this time," Ash growled.

"I'm sure," Sara sighed.

I walked along the bridge with Sparky on my shoulder, but then I heard a loud snap and the bridge broke. Half of it fell but was only held up by the other half of the bridge. Sara, Brawly and Gary immediately fell down and into the strong river far below.

"Sara, Brawly, Gary!" I called, holding onto the ropes, Sparky holding my bag. I looked over to Ash and saw him holding on too, Pikachu struggling to hold onto him.

Ash looked back at me and half climbed up, holding onto the half of the bridge that kept it up. He held out his hand for me and took me by surprise. But I didn't argue. I reached my hand up and he took it. We both got to the other side safely with our Pokemon.

"Thanks," I sighed.

"I only did it so I wouldn't have to look for the others _and_ you!" Ash said, crossing his arms and turning away from me. I growled, but didn't bother trying to start a fight again. It ended badly last time.

I stood up after sitting down to rest. "Come on. We might as well try to find them," I walked past him and he followed me, our Pokemon on our shoulders. Pikachu and Sparky exchanged a worried glance but said nothing.

We walked through the forest leading for the river, calling out for our friends.

I felt Ash's gaze and I turned my head to look at him. He immediately looked away, so did I.

All of a sudden, Ash fell into something. I stopped and turned around, looking down into the hole, Ash was down there. "Wow. How did that get there?"

"I _fell_ in, what does it look like!?" Ash growled. "Just help me out of here!"

"Fine," I sighed and helped him out. We continued on our way through the forest. I glanced at him and found that I couldn't look away. He looked back at me and I turned my head in the other direction.

"What are you staring at me for?" Ash growled.

"Me?" I growled, looking back at him. "You started it!"

"I did not! You were staring at me, I saw it!"

Ash and I growled at each other and Pikachu and Sparky got worried.

"Get over it," I growled and looked away from him, my arms crossed.

"Already have."

"Stubborn."

"Baby."

We glared at each other, but then Ash tripped on something and we were pulled up in a net hanging from a tree.

"What the!?" I growled and realized I was right in front of Ash. "Oh this is just _great_!"

"I could say the same thing!" Ash growled back at me. "How the heck do we get out of this thing!?"

"How would I know!?"

"You're supposed to be the 'smart' one!"

"I never said that!"

"You act like it!"

"I'm not the one that got us lost, now am I!?" I growled.

Ash and I were face to face, inches from each other that our noses were millimeters away. We glared at each other but sighed and gave up, Pikachu and Sparky sighed too.

We tried shaking the net but it didn't work, we were stuck.

"How did we even get in this thing!?" Ash growled.

"It was you who tripped on something!"

"Oh, so now it's my fault!?"

"Yes! You got us lost and you got us trapped in this thing!"

"Well if you weren't staring at me I might have seen it!"

"I wasn't staring at you, I was looking at Pikachu!"

"Yeah right. Nice try!"

I sighed and moved so that I was sitting next to Ash instead of in front of him. There was nothing else we could do.


	14. Ash or Brawly

It was a long time that we sat there. Pikachu and Sparky were just as quiet as us, we refused to talk to one another.

"I have an idea," I murmured and held out a Pokeball.  
"An idea?" Ash rolled his eyes. "That took you a while."

"Shut up!" I growled and I stuck my hand and the Pokeball out of the net. The ball opened and Absol appeared on the ground. "Absol, use Razor Wind."

Absol nodded and swung its head, a white blade coming off it. It cut the top of the net and we fell down, hitting the ground hard.

"OW!" Ash growled. "Yeah, real great idea!" I noted his sarcasm.

"It got us down, didn't it!?" I growled back.

"Pika, Chu!" Sparky said as we clenched our fists, ready for another fight.

Absol got between us and pushed us away from each other. We growled and turned our backs on each other.

Absol looked up at Sparky. "Pika," Sparky sighed.

"Let's keep going," I growled at last. "We need to find the others."

Ash followed me through the forest, I let Absol walk around with us.

We walked for a while and then we reached some sort of house made from logs. "What is this place?" I murmured, to no one in particular.

"There's the others," Ash pointed out and we saw Sara, Brawly and Gary with another girl.

"We found them," Ash sighed.

"I'm the one who asked Absol to let us down from the net," I mumbled.

"What's your point!?" Ash growled. "We still found them didn't we!?"

"Who cares!?" I growled and walked over to them, Absol by my side.

"Oh, hi guys," Sara smiled. "Where were you? You took a long time."

"We were looking for you," Ash growled.

"I take it things are still bad between you?" Sara sighed, we nodded.

"So who's this?" I asked.

"Oh, this is Melanie," Gary said. "She's started up a health clinic here for sick and injured wild Pokemon."

"Cool," I smiled and walked away from Ash. Absol followed me.

"You guys looked more angry than normal," Brawly murmured. "What happened?"

"We got stuck in a net together," I growled. "Because _he_ tripped on something!"

"It wasn't my fault!" Ash growled.

"It was so!"

"Was not!"

"Was-" Brawly put a hand over my mouth.

"Calm down," he sighed. "You'll upset the Pokemon."

I sighed, giving up. Brawly took his hand back and hugged me, it disturbed me somehow.

"You were stuck in a net?" the Melanie girl asked.

I broke away from Brawly and nodded. "Someone must have put it there but I don't know who."

"That would be me," Melanie looked at the ground. "You see. I didn't want any trainers coming here to capture Pokemon. I'm sorry you got caught."

"The bridge was a trap too," Sara said.

"How did you manage to get out of the river?" I asked, suddenly remembering.

"Melanie helped us," Brawly said. "She found us and pulled us out."

"Fair enough."

"How did you stop from falling in?"

"Ash helped me."

"Okay," Gary said. "But anyway. We promised Melanie we wouldn't catch any Pokemon here."

"That's fine with me," I said, Ash nodded.

"Torchic, Tor!"

I looked around and saw a small chicken-looking Pokemon run out of the bushes. It stood protectively in front of Melanie and the other wild Pokemon that were around her.

"What Pokemon is that?" Sara asked and pulled out her Pokedex.

"Torchic, the tiny bird Pokemon. It is a small, clumsy bird, covered by a fluffy coat of down feathers. Before Torchic's legs develop fully, it stays with their Pokemon Trainer, following behind with unsteady, hopping steps while it learns to walk properly. It attacks by spitting 1,800 degree fire formed in a special pouch in its stomach. This pouch constantly heats its body, allowing it to give "warm hugs". It dislikes darkness due to not being able to see its surroundings," her Pokedex said.

"I remember seeing one of those in Professor Birch's lab one my first day as a trainer," I murmured.

"Torchic it's okay," Melanie said. "These trainers are not here to cause trouble."

"Torchic!" it said.

"Huh?" Gary murmured.

"Torchic protects this place," Melanie explained. "It protects all the wild Pokemon here in case they get attacked."

"That's cool," I mumbled. "Sounds like a really brave Pokemon."

"How long has it been with you?" Sara asked.

"A year at least," Melanie sighed. "It came here after it was badly injured. I treated it but it decided to stay here and protect everybody."

"Torchic!" Torchic said and tried pushing me away with its little wings.

"I'm not here to take any Pokemon, Torchic," I said, looking down at it.

"Torchic!" it still tried pushing me away.

Melanie picked up Torchic and held it in her arms. "Torchic, calm down, please! They're not bad trainers."

"Torchic, chic!"

I sighed, but then the whole area was covered by a sudden shadow. We looked up and saw a huge blimp-looking thing with balloons at the top. I saw three shapes standing on it. "Team Rocket!" I growled.

"Listen, is that a voice I hear?" Jessie smiled.

"It's speaking to me, loud and clear," James replied.

"On the wind!"

"Past the stars!"

"In your ear!" Meowth said.

"Bringing chaos at a break-neck pace!" Jessie said.

"Dashing hopes, putting fear in its place!" James said.

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"A rose by any other name's just as sweet!"

"When everything's worse our work is complete!"

"We're Team Rocket," they all said. "In your face!"

"Not you three again!" Sara growled and glanced at me and Ash. "Don't you ever give up!?"

"We want those Pikachu!" Meowth smiled. "And we're going to get them no matter what. And all the other Pokemon here."

"No!" Melanie exclaimed.

"All Pokemon that want to come into the stadium are welcome!" Jessie said and pressed a button on a remote she held. A hose came out of the blimp-thing and there was a fierce wind, trying to suck everything up.

"Everyone in the cabin!" Gary yelled and we all ran for the cabin. All the wild Pokemon got in, but Melanie accidentally let go of Torchic.

I turned and watched as Torchic was getting sucked up with the wind to the hose. "Absol, use Razor Wind on the hose!"

Absol swung its head and a white blade swung up, hitting the hose and making it swing up. The wind was no longer dragging Torchic. I ran forward and caught the little chicken Pokemon. "It's okay, Torchic, I got you," I smiled down at the little Pokemon.

The wind was trying to suck us back up to the hose again, but I tried my best not to let it take us.

Absol appeared and helped us reach the cabin. We got in and Sara closed the door.

"Are you alright, Torchic?" I asked once we were inside.

"Torchic," it said and I let it down on the ground. It turned and it was gone. I heard something up on the roof and I ran out of the cabin to see Torchic on the roof, firing a Flamethrower up at the hose, but the fire came right back.

"Torchic!" I called and climbed up to the roof, ready to try and protect Torchic.

Ash appeared beside me, throwing a Pokeball. "Taillow, use Whirlwind!"

A small bird Pokemon appeared and flapped its wings as hard as it could. The fire was caught in between the two forces of wind and it disappeared, Ash returned Taillow back into its Pokeball.

Suddenly, I felt my feet slip and I started to get pulled up to the hose, but Ash grabbed my wrist, I grabbed his wrist. "Ash!?" I exclaimed.

Ash was holding onto the roof, Torchic behind him. He was trying not to slip as well, but his hand was slipping from the roof.

"Ash, let me go!" I said. "Otherwise you'll get pulled with me!"

"No!" Ash yelled. "I won't let you go, Skye!"

My eyes widened. "But...." I growled. "Ash just let me go! Don't worry about me!"

"I'll never let go!" Ash growled back at me. "Even if that means _**forever**_!"

"Ash....." I murmured.

"Skye, no matter what....." Ash's eyes locked onto mine. "I love you!"

I felt tears in the rims of my eyes and I shut them tightly. I didn't want Ash to get dragged in with me. "ABSOL! USE PERISH SONG!!!!!!" I screamed.

Absol came out of the cabin, looking at me. It jumped up onto the roof and stood its ground. Brawly, Gary, Melanie and Sara came out as well.

Ash pulled me back to the roof and put his arm around me to hold me down, I held onto the roof, Torchic was still with us.

Absol took in a breath and opened its mouth, letting out a deafening cry that I thought my eardrums would burst.

The vibrations of the loud cry flew up and swung the hose back, also hitting the blimp-thing Team Rocket stood on.

"NO!" Jessie yelled.

"WE'RE DONE FOR!!!!!!!!!" Meowth added.

The vibrations hit them and there was a small explosion.

"Sparky, use Thunderbolt!" I yelled.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash added.

Sparky and Pikachu ran forward, standing together, holding paws.

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" they said and electricity flew from their bodies at Team Rocket. There was an even bigger explosion and Team Rocket was blasted into the air.

"Looks like we're blasting off again!" they yelled and they were gone.

I breathed, trying to catch my breath. Ash still had his arm around me.

"Are you okay?" Ash asked.

"Yeah," I murmured my reply, opening my eyes. "That was a great job, Absol," I smiled at my Pokemon.

"Absol!" it smiled back.

I looked back down at Torchic. "That was very brave of you, Torchic."

"Tor?" it tilted its head, blinking at me.

Ash finally let me go and we looked down at the others, Brawly looked at Ash, something shining in his eyes.

"Thank you, Ash," I said and he looked at me. "You saved me."

Ash smiled. "I know. I couldn't let Team Rocket get you."

I sighed. "Ash, I'm sorry. The fight was stupid."

"I'm sorry too," he said. "So, are we friends again?" he held his hand out.

I smiled and hugged him. "Yep."

He smiled back and hugged me in return. We got back down to the ground.

"Is everybody alright?" Ash asked.

"We're fine," Gary said. "Nice work, you two."

"Thanks," I murmured, glancing at Brawly. "By the way, Ash?"

"Yeah? What?"

"When did you get a Taillow?"

"Well. After Team Aqua kidnapped you I caught it, thinking it might help us find you," Ash replied.

I smiled and Sparky jumped up on my shoulder. "Good work, Sparky. That was a great Thunderbolt."

"Pika!" Sparky smiled.

"I think it would be best if we kept going to get to Verdanturf Town," Sara said. "We should be able to get there before nightfall."

"You're right," Ash said. "Let's go."

"We'll see you again, maybe," I said to Melanie. "You take care now." I returned Absol into its Pokeball.

Melanie smiled and nodded. "You too."

"Bye, Torchic," I smiled and we headed off.

"Tor...." Torchic sighed.

Melanie smiled. "Wait!" she called.

We stopped and turned around. Melanie picked Torchic up. "Skye, I want you to take Torchic with you."

"What?" I murmured.

Melanie picked Torchic up. "Please. Take Torchic with you on your Pokemon Journey."

"But, why?" I asked.

"Torchic has been here for a very long time," Melanie smiled. "And it has done wonderfully, protecting all the Pokemon here. But even they will leave one day. They feel safe here, but they can't stay here forever. Torchic needs more room to grow, and it won't do any more growing here. I want you to take Torchic."

I thought for a moment before nodding. "Of course, I'll take it," I smiled.

"Torchic, Tor!" it said. Melanie laughed.

"What did it say?" I asked.

"Torchic will come with you on one condition," Melanie smiled. "It wants to battle you."

I smiled. "Sure thing!"

In a matter of moments, Torchic was facing me in a small clearing near the cabin. I took out a Pokeball and threw it. "Buizel, let's go!"

"A Water Type against a Fire Type," Brawly smiled. "She's smart."

"She always has been," Ash smiled.

Sara glanced at Ash, she was glad Ash and I were friends again.

"Alright, Buizel!" I said. "Use Sonicboom!"

Buizel jumped up and spun, white blades came off its tail each time it spun. "Bui! Bui!" it said but Torchic jumped up and dodged them, spitting a Flamethrower in Buizel's direction.

"Buizel, Water Gun!" I commanded.

Buizel opened its mouth and water shot out, making the fire disappear and hitting Torchic. Torchic fell back.

"Buizel, use Sonicboom!"

Buizel jumped up and spun once. "Bui!" it said and a white blade shot out, hitting Torchic when it stood up.

"Now, use Aqua Jet!"

Buizel jumped into the air and water surrounded it. It came back down at Torchic and hit it. Torchic fell back again.

I grabbed a Pokeball and made it bigger. I threw it. "Pokeball, go!"

Torchic went inside the Pokeball and after a few moments, I had caught it. I smiled. "YES! I CAUGHT TORCHIC!!!!" I ran over to the Pokeball and picked it up, Buizel stood beside me. "You did great. Thank you, Buizel."

"Bui, Bui!" Buizel smiled and crossed its arms.

"Good catch!" Ash smiled and ran over to me.

"Thanks," I smiled back and threw the Pokeball. "Come on out, Torchic!"

Torchic appeared on the ground. "Torchic, Tor!" it smiled.

I laughed and pulled out Buizel's Pokeball. "Buizel. Good job. Return." Buizel went inside the Pokeball. "You deserve a good rest."

"Take good care of Torchic," Melanie said.

I nodded. "I will, I promise."

Melanie nodded back. "Good bye, Torchic."

"Tor, Torchic," Torchic said and we waved good bye to Melanie before turning and leaving. Torchic looked over its shoulder at the cabin and its friends. "TORCHIC!" I waved good bye as well.

I smiled and picked Torchic up in my arms, it looked up at me and Sparky who was on my shoulder.

"Pika," Sparky smiled.

"Torchic!" Torchic replied.

We walked through the forest together, dodging all kinds of traps until we got back to the main road.

Most of the way, I noticed Brawly and Ash glaring at each other. I sighed, I knew this would happen. But now I was really unsure. I glanced at both of them, knowing that I was going out with Brawly, but I also liked Ash. I didn't know what to do anymore. I liked them both!

We didn't make it to Verdanturf Town and it was nightfall, so we decided to camp out for the night.

"Good night, guys," Sara yawned and was asleep instantly. The others followed suit quickly. I pretended to be asleep for a while, staring up at the stars with my hands behind my head. _What do I do_? I asked myself.

After a while, I sighed and got up, walking through the forest to think a little better.

I stopped when I found a cliff, I looked out at the lake, shining with the reflection of the stars and moon. I sighed and looked up at the sky.

"Skye?"

I spun around, surprised. I breathed when I saw Ash.

"Sorry," he said. "What are you doing out here?"

I sighed. "Just thinking."

"What about?"

"You and Brawly."

"......... Huh?"

"I..... It's weird....... Forget it."

"No. Skye, you can tell me," Ash put a hand on my shoulder.

"It's just....." I looked at him. "I don't know which one of you I want to be with!"

Ash's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"I like Brawly, and I like you," I murmured. "I just don't know what to do." I felt tears in my eyes.

"It's alright," Ash said. "You don't have to strain yourself thinking about it. I'm fine with whatever you do. If you choose Brawly, it's alright. As long as you're happy."

Tears ran down my face. "We've been through a lot more. You've been there for me more times than Brawly has."

"Calm down," Ash wiped a tear away. I tried to smile and he hugged me, my arms up against his chest and my face buried in his jacket. "I just don't know."

"You don't have to think too much," Ash murmured. "Just give it time. You'll make the choice you think is right."

I stayed where I was, with Ash's arms around me. I was happy. I remembered the last time I was crying on him; when he saved me the first time from Team Aqua. I was scared and he saved me. It was then that I apologized for my attention always on Paul, and this time it was about Brawly. I knew now; it was Ash that I loved the most.

I broke away from him. "I know now."

"Huh?"

"Ash. I love you."

Ash smiled. "What about Brawly?"

"I don't know. But I just know that it's you I want to be with!"

"Okay," Ash murmured calmly. "You know I love you too."

"Yeah."

Ash leaned down to me and I smiled, leaning up. Our lips hovered in front of each other for a moment, re-thinking, but then Ash's lips pressed against mine.

We stood like that for a few seconds before breaking apart. "And you forgive me for beating you up like that?"

"I beat you up as well," I teased.

He looked down at his scratched arm. "Yeah. I know."

I laughed. "We should get back."

He nodded. "Come on." We turned and went back towards camp. Ash took his hat off and put it on my head, then he put his arm over my shoulders and held me close to him.

I smiled and hugged him sideways as we walked.

I didn't know what Brawly would do, but I would work it out. Hopefully.

We reached the campsite and everyone was still asleep. I crawled into my sleeping bag and Ash got into his, falling asleep instantly. I was glad I didn't wake up Sparky or Torchic.

I didn't get any sleep for a while and I was actually scared of what Brawly would think. I knew Ash and Brawly would be mad at each other, probably both trying to keep me. I didn't want to be caught in it.

After thinking for a bit, I came to one solution. I crawled out of my sleeping bag and packed it up silently. I put it in my bag and put all my other stuff I had out into my bag. I walked over to the tree stump where Sparky, Pikachu and Torchic were sleeping. I knew which one was Sparky, it had bits of fur sticking up on its head. I silently shook Sparky and Torchic awake and they looked up at me. Sparky knew from my sad expression that something was up.

"Come on, you two," I whispered, trying not to wake up Pikachu.

I turned and grabbed my bag, putting it on my back. Sparky and Torchic followed me quietly. I looked down at their confused faces and I turned, walking away from the campsite, glancing at my friends before I disappeared in the trees with Sparky and Torchic following me.

_It's the only thing I can do_, I thought with a heavy heart, knowing how upset they would be when they wake up in the morning and find me gone.

Sparky jumped up on my shoulder and Torchic had to run to keep up with me, so I picked it up in my arms.

"Pika?" Sparky said.

"Don't worry, Sparky," I replied. "It'll be alright."

I was heading away from Verdanturf Town, going to pass Mauville City and follow the path up to the next town; Lavaridge Town.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Morning, guys," Sara yawned as she sat up, stretching. She looked up at her friends, they were wide awake, looking around. "What's the matter?"

"Skye's gone," Gary replied.

Sara looked at where I had been sleeping, everything of mine was gone. "Where would she go?"

"No idea," Brawly sighed. "Unless Team Aqua came back to get her."

"No, they would have woken up Pikachu," Ash murmured. "Pikachu has very good hearing."

"Well wouldn't Pikachu have heard Skye if she left?" Brawly challenged.

"Don't try and pin the blame on Pikachu!" Ash growled.

"Well if Pikachu has such good hearing, why didn't it hear Skye leave!?" Brawly growled back.

Sara growled and stood up. "Don't put the blame on Pikachu! You don't know if it was exhausted or not. It might have been really tired and was in a deep sleep! It's not Pikachu's fault!"

Pikachu was sitting on the tree stump with its head down.

"We have to find her!" Brawly said.

"She might have gone towards Verdanturf Town," Gary murmured. "We'll keep on track and try and find her. Sara still needs to go to the Contest there."

Brawly growled. "I hope she's alright."

Ash sighed. _Why would she just leave_? He thought. _She was with me last night and I thought she went to sleep. She was acting perfectly fine. I wonder what went wrong_....

Brawly looked stressed. "Alright. Let's go."

They packed up and continued on their way to Verdanturf Town. Pikachu jumped up on Ash's shoulder. "Pika, Pi," it murmured quietly.

"It's not your fault, Pikachu," Ash told it. "But don't worry, we'll find Skye and Sparky."

"Pika."

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Alright, Poochyena! Use Shadow Ball!"

Poochyena opened its mouth and a black sphere appeared. It grew to be twice its size and it closed its mouth, shooting the black sphere at the Mudkip.

Mudkip fell back, but got right back up.

"Mudkip, use Water Gun!" the trainer ordered.

Mudkip opened its mouth and water sprayed out, flying at Poochyena.

"Poochyena, dodge it!" I called and Poochyena easily jumped up out of the way. "Use Shadow Ball again!"

Poochyena fired another Shadow Ball at Mudkip, but the little blue Pokemon dodged it.

"Now use Take Down!" I ordered.

Poochyena ran at Mudkip just as the blue Pokemon reached the ground again and hit it head on. Mudkip fell back and was out.

The trainer sighed and returned his Pokemon. "That was a great battle," he said to me.

"Yeah, it was fun," I smiled but something caught my eye: Poochyena was shining white!

Poochyena grew bigger and bigger, changing shape as it grew. My eyes shone with amazement as the light went away to reveal a whole new Pokemon: Mightyena!

"Poochyena.... evolved....." I murmured.

"Mightyena!" it said and turned to me, walking over with a huge smile on its face.

"Hello, Mightyena," I smiled and patted it. "No one can say you're little anymore. You're now a full grown Mightyena."

"Mightyena, Might!" it nodded.

"We'll see each other again," the trainer smiled. "At the Pokemon League."

I nodded. "I'll be looking forward to another battle."

The boy nodded and walked off.

"Pika, Pikachu!" Sparky smiled.

"Might! Mightyena!" Mightyena smiled back and looked around.

"We should keep going," I sighed. "Lavaridge Town is still a while away."

"Pika?" Sparky murmured.

"I'm fine," I smiled. I pulled out Mightyena's Pokeball. "Return, Mightyena." Mightyena went inside its Pokeball and I continued walking with Sparky on my shoulder.

"Pika....." Sparky sighed.

"I'm sorry, Sparky," I murmured. "I know you miss Pikachu. But I don't know what else to do. I don't want Ash and Brawly fighting over me. I have no other choice."

"Pika, Pi," Sparky nuzzled my face.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Here is our fifth entry!" the host smiled. "Sara from Twinleaf Town!"

Sara ran onto the stage, throwing a Pokeball in the air. "Skitty! Take the stage!"

Skitty appeared on the stage, a huge smiled on its face.

"Alright, Skitty!" Sara called, a little unenthusiastic. "Use Swift!"

Skitty opened its mouth and golden stars flew into the air.

"Now, use Doubleslap!" Sara called.

Skitty jumped up and used its tail to hit the stars. They broke into thousands of tiny stars and Skitty jumped back to the ground in front of Sara as the stars fell to the ground.

"Wow! What an amazing performance!" the host smiled. "What do the judges have to say?"

Mr. Contesta was first. "An amazing display of Swift and Doubleslap. But more enthusiasm and confidence in the trainer's Pokemon would be better."

Mr. Remenessa was next. "Remarkable."

Nurse Joy sighed. "It was a very well performance, but the trainer's spirits are low, and that can affect how well the Pokemon performs."

Sara sighed inwardly. _This is all because Skye disappeared_, she thought. _Somehow it's affecting me and I can't concentrate properly_.

"Our sixth contestant is Summer from Viridian City!" the host said and a pretty girl with sparkling blue hair and a white dress came running onto the stage, throwing a Pokeball into the air.

"Charmander!" she called. "You're up!"

A red lizard Pokemon appeared, on the end of its tail was a small flame.

"Charmander, use Fire Spin!"

Charmander lifted its head and fire escaped its mouth, twirling around in circles into the air. It came back down towards it and Charmander was prepared.

"Now, use Slash!" Summer called.

Charmander jumped up with a shining white claw and hit the spinning fire, making it split into tiny flames. They floated down to the ground and with a somersault, Charmander landed on the ground and looked out at the crowd.

Summer got good comments from the judges and she went to the waiting room to see if she would make it to the next round.

Sara watched from the waiting room as more contestants showed off their Pokemon. When it came to who was moving onto the next round, Sara growled when she realized she wasn't a part of it, the Summer girl was. She was disappointed and she decided just to take her friends and go.

"That was just bad luck," Gary sighed.

"Yeah, I guess," Sara murmured. "It would have been better if Skye was here."

"Don't worry. We'll find her," Ash said.

"She probably took off because she was confused after you said you still loved her yesterday!" Brawly growled. "You messed her up!"

"I was the last person to see her last night!" Ash growled back at him. "She was confused, but she admitted that it was me she wanted to be with!"

"Dream on!" Brawly said.

"It's true," Ash growled.

"Yeah right!"

"Get over it!" Sara growled. "Or I'll make a raft, tie the both of you to it and let you fall off a waterfall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

They were both silent, taking in the fury in her voice. They glared at each other and Sara took in a deep breath. "That's it," she sighed and went into her bag. She pulled out some rope and tied the two of them together, back to back. She pulled out two cloths and tied them around their eyes, blind-folding them. She then reached to the bottom of her bag and got the duck tape she 'borrowed' from me. She put it over their mouths and stood up, looking at them trying to get free.

"Are you sure that was necessary?" Gary asked.

Sara nodded. "That way they can't get on my nerves anymore." She grabbed the loose bit of rope and started walking, dragging Brawly and Ash along with her. Gary sighed and walked beside her.

"Sara! Wait up!"

Sara stopped and turned around. "Oh. Hi. I thought you were in the second rounds."

"I was, but I decided to drop out," Summer smiled, catching up. She looked down at Brawly and Ash. "Um...."

"Don't ask," Gary said.

"Why did you drop out?" Sara asked.

"Your performance was amazing, unenthusiastic or not," Summer said. "You deserved to go on to the second rounds. I decided that if you didn't make it then I wouldn't continue."

"Wow.... You didn't have to," Sara murmured, blinking. "I barely know you."

She smiled. "My name is Summer. I come from the Kanto region. Viridian City."

Ash looked up, even though he couldn't see a thing, he tried saying something but it turned into a mumble.

"That's Ash," Sara said, kicking the guy that was mumbling. "He comes from Pallet Town, also in the Kanto region. And then Brawly," she kicked him too. "He's the former Dewford Town Gym Leader."

Summer blinked. "Okay...."

"This is Gary, also from Pallet Town," Sara put an arm over his shoulders. "The one who doesn't annoy me. And I'm Sara of course. I'm from Twinleaf Town in Sinnoh."

"Nice to meet you all," Summer smiled.

"But of course," Gary sighed. "There is one more person to our group."

Summer tilted her head. "Who?"

"Skye," Sara mumbled. "She took off last night for some reason."

Brawly and Ash started mumbling and Sara kicked them both. "Shut up!" she growled.

They were silent.

"Why did she take off?" Summer asked.

"Don't know," Sara said as Pikachu jumped up on her shoulder. "But she was with us last night, gone this morning."

"What's that Pokemon in your arms?" Gary asked.

Summer looked down at the little Pokemon with red and blue triangles on its egg-like body. "That's Togepi," Summer smiled. "I always carry it around with me. It can't battle yet."

"It's cute," Sara murmured. "But sorry, we have to go. We need to find Skye. It's obvious she's not in Verdanturf Town."

"I could help you if you want me to," Summer offered.

"Sure," Sara said. "We could use the help. Usually you can never find Skye when you need her."

"I have just the Pokemon that can help," Summer smiled and put Togepi in her bag where it would be comfy and warm. She grabbed a Pokeball from her bag and threw it in the air. "Growlithe, let's go!"

A small puppy Pokemon appeared. "Growlithe!" it said.

"I could have used mine," Gary sighed.

"You have one too?" Summer asked, Gary nodded. "Then send it out. Two would be more helpful."

Gary shrugged and sent out his Growlithe.

"Pikachu, do you know Skye's scent?" Sara asked.

Pikachu started sniffing and jumped to the ground, walking over to Ash. It took Ash's hat off with its teeth and went back to Sara.

"That has Skye's scent on it?" Sara muttered and looked at Ash. She walked over to him, taking the blind-fold off and ripping the duck tape off his mouth. "Talk Mr. Why does Pikachu think that Skye's scent is on _**your**_ hat?"

"Maybe because I put my hat on her head last night after we talked for a bit," Ash replied and heard Brawly growl.

Sara shrugged and went back to Pikachu, taking the hat. She crouched down in front of the two Growlithe's, putting the hat in front of them. "Try and catch Skye's scent and not Ash's."

The two Pokemon sniffed the hat, picking out my scent. Summer's Growlithe caught the scent first, then Gary's. They both turned and ran down the trail towards Mauville City. Summer and Gary ran after their Pokemon, Sara grabbed the rope and ran after them, dragging Brawly and Ash along the ground.

"OW!" Ash yelled as she dragged them over a few ragged stones at a very fast pace.

They returned to the campsite they had made the night before and the two Growlithe's sniffed around again, catching the scent. Sara put more duck tape over Ash's mouth.

"Now SHUT UP!" Sara growled at him. "You give me a major headache!"

The two puppy Pokemon ran off again and the trainers ran after them, Sara dragged Brawly and Ash again, Pikachu was on Sara's shoulder.

_I just hope we find her_, Sara thought. _I'm worried that Team Aqua might have found her again_....

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Give back Sparky!!!"

"No way, twerp!" Jessie laughed. "This is our present to the Boss."

"Go catch your own Pokemon!" I growled, looking up at Team Rocket with Sparky in the cage.

"That takes too much effort," Jessie sighed. "Stealing Pokemon is much more fun."

"Why do you want my Pikachu then?" I growled.

"Listen, is that a voice I hear?" Jessie started the motto and I rolled my eyes.

"It's speaking to me loud and clear," James smiled.

"On the wind!"

"Past the stars!"

"In your ear-"

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP!?!?!?" I yelled. "I DON'T WANT TO LISTEN TO YOUR STUPID MOTTO!!! JUST GIVE SPARKY BACK!"

"Sounds like the twerp is getting angry," Meowth smiled. "Let's go."

I watched as their air balloon started lifting further into the air. I growled and grabbed a Pokeball. "Torchic, use Flamethrower!"

Torchic came out of its Pokeball and fired a Flamethrower up at the balloon, but it was too far up for Torchic's attack to reach. Team Rocket laughed as they got away with Sparky.

"No," I growled and returned Torchic. I ran after them, grabbing another Pokeball and throwing it. Mightyena came out and ran beside me. "Mightyena, we have to get Sparky back."

"Might!" Mightyena growled and I jumped on its back. It ran on ahead, faster than I would be able to run.

Mightyena ran through the forest after the air balloon, but when we got out of the trees we couldn't see it anymore. It was gone.

"Damn!" I growled and got off of Mightyena's back, falling to my knees. "They took Sparky....." Tears formed in my eyes. "No...."

"Mightyena," Mightyena tried to comfort me, but it didn't work.

I slammed my fist onto the ground as tears ran down my face. "NO!" I yelled.

"Might! Mightyena!" Mightyena said and nudged me, worried.

"We have to find them," I murmured. "We have to get Sparky back!"

Mightyena nudged me to my feet and we walked for a little while. We stopped for a rest when we reached a large lake. We had been searching for at least an hour and we were exhausted.

"I hope they don't hurt Sparky," I murmured.

"Mightyena," Mightyena agreed, sighing.

I looked out at the lake, shining brightly from the sun. I was about to get back up and continue looking for Team Rocket and Sparky when I saw bubbles appear in the water. I looked closer as more and more bubbles rose up, and then I saw a bright yellow light.

Mightyena tensed up and pushed me out of the way as a golden beam shot out of the water and hit the ground where we had been seconds before. Mightyena breathed and growled, turning to the water. I stood up and waited to see what would happen now.

_What was that_? I thought, but my question was quickly answered as a giant blue snake-looking Pokemon shot up out of the water, glaring down at Mightyena and I. It had a yellow belly, blue back, white fins on its back long whiskers, red eyes and huge white teeth.

"A Gyarados!" I exclaimed, looking up at the fierce creature. "But why did it attack us?"

Gyarados prepared for another Hyper Beam attack and we got out of the way just in time.

I smirked. "I could use one of those. It's got a lot of power."

"Mightyena!" Mightyena looked ready to fight.

"No, Mightyena," I said. "You're too exhausted to fight Gyarados. Let one of the other Pokemon fight it."

Mightyena sighed and nodded, backing towards my side. I grabbed a Pokeball from my belt and threw it. "Absol, let's go!"

Absol appeared and looked up at Gyarados.

"Alright, Absol," I said. "We have to catch this one. Will you help me?"

"Ab!" it nodded.

"Okay. Use Razor Wind!"

Absol swung its head and a white blade shot from it, hitting Gyarados directly. It growled and launched another Hyper Beam.

"Dodge it!" I commanded.

Absol jumped neatly out of the way as the Hyper Beam tore into the ground. I growled. _This battle might be harder than I thought_, I thought. _If I had Sparky this would be a piece of cake_!

I looked up at Absol as Gyarados headbutted it and sent it flying away. "Absol!" I exclaimed. Absol came running back, ready to keep going. I growled. "Absol, use Quick Attack!"

Absol ran swiftly towards Gyarados and jumped into the air, hitting the massive Pokemon and landing in the water. Bad move.

"Damn!" I growled at myself as Gyarados now towered over Absol. It came down at Absol, jaws wide. I was searching for an attack in my mind, every second counted. Absol could get seriously hurt if those teeth met with it. My mind clicked. "Absol! Use Perish Song!"

Absol opened its mouth and let out an ear-splitting cry. The vibrations flew up at Gyarados and hit it, over and over again. Gyarados roared in pain.

"Now use Razor Wind!" I called.

Absol swung its head and a white blade flew up at Gyarados. The big Pokemon swung its tail forward and diverted the attack.

Gyarados opened its mouth and a flame appeared.

"Oh no," I murmured. "Dragon Rage! Absol get out of there!!!!!!"

Absol turned and started swimming back to shore. The beam of fire came crashing down towards Absol, it was bound to hit.

"ABSOL!" I cried but Mightyena ran forward, a large black sphere forming rapidly. Mightyena shot it out and it collided with Gyarados's attack, making an explosion. Absol reached the shore and the two Pokemon stood side by side.

"Good work, Mightyena," I breathed.

"Might!" it smiled.

"Alright. Absol, use Razor Wind! Mightyena, use Shadow Ball!"

The two Pokemon fired their attacks and hit Gyarados. It was getting weaker with every hit.

"Mightyena, come back," I said and Mightyena returned to my side. "Absol, use Perish Song!"

Absol opened its mouth and let out another ear-splitting cry. The vibrations flew up and hit Gyarados over and over again.

Gyarados was weak now, I was sure I could catch it. I grabbed a Pokeball from my belt. "Pokeball, go!" I yelled and threw it at Gyarados. It hit the Pokemon and Gyarados was sucked inside. The Pokeball floated on the water, shaking. I waited and waited, but then it stopped shaking.

I smiled and was about to go after it, but it started shaking again. I took a deep breath, praying that Gyarados wouldn't get free. It was about a minute until the shaking stopped for good. I smiled and was going to go get it, but Absol swam out and got it for me.

I smiled down at Absol, taking the Pokeball. "Thank you. That was an excellent job. You too, Mightyena," I added. "Good work, both of you. Your team work could never be doubted."

"Ab!" Absol smiled and looked back at Mightyena who walked over.

"Might. Mightyena," it smiled as well.

I pulled out both their Pokeballs and returned them. "You two deserve a good rest." I put all the Pokeballs away and turned to try and find where Team Rocket went with Sparky.

It took me ages, walking through forests, walking out in the open. I had so much trouble trying to find my lost Pokemon.

I sighed and was about to sit down for another rest when I heard something.

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I looked up and saw a lightning bolt rise into the sky, but it disappeared quickly.


	15. Heartbreak

"Get away from that Pikachu! I know it doesn't belong to you!" I heard a voice.

"That Pokemon is rightfully ours!" I heard Jessie's voice.

"Yeah, so get away from it, twerp!" it was Meowth.

I ran forward, through the trees and I stopped when I saw Team Rocket with a huge robot, there was a guy standing there with a Pikachu at his feet, hiding behind him. I knew it was Sparky.

"Give us that Pikachu!" James growled and the huge robot reached a hand forward, pushing the guy aside and grabbing Sparky.

"No!" he yelled as Sparky was lifted into the air. He pulled out a Pokeball and threw it. "Skarmory, help that Pikachu!"

I watched as a giant gray bird that looked like it was made of steel appeared. The guy looked confident as he called on his own Pokemon. He had black hair, white shirt and dark jeans.

"Skarmory, use Steel Wing!"

The bird Pokemon flew towards the robot arm with white glowing wings. It hit the arm, but nothing happened.

"Try again!" he called.

Skarmory hit the arm over and over again, Team Rocket were just laughing.

"You can hit the arm as many times as you want," Meowth said. "But its unbreakable!"

"Damn. How are we going to rescue that Pikachu then?" the guy murmured to himself.

I clenched my fists and pulled out a Pokeball, throwing it. Absol appeared in the clearing in front of the guy. He was surprised. I ran forward to stand near him. "Absol, use Perish Song!" I growled.

Absol nodded and opened its mouth, letting out its ear-splitting cry. The vibrations flew up and hit the robot over and over again.

"No! Not the girl twerp again!" Meowth exclaimed.

"We're toast!" James cried.

The guy looked at me but I ignored him for the moment. I'd thank him after I got Sparky back.

"Pikachu!" Sparky called and I looked up at Sparky.

"Sparky!" I called back. "Absol, you keep hitting them with Perish Song and Razor Wind. I'm going to get Sparky."

Absol nodded and I ran forward.

"Oh no you don't!" Jessie growled and the other robot arm came at me.

"Watch out!" the guy called but I didn't listen. The arm hit the ground in front of me and I jumped up, climbing up it.

"Damn!" James growled. "She's a human Aipom!"

"Shake her off!" Meowth said to Jessie.

Jessie used the controls to try and shake me off, but Absol was doing its job by hitting it with Razor Wind attacks.

"Absol, try another Perish Song!" I yelled.

Absol was nervous, the attack would hit me too. "Ab!" it shook its head.

"Just do it!" I yelled.

The guy watched me as I continued climbing up to reach Sparky. Absol still hesitated.

Jessie swung the arm around again.

"ABSOL!" I yelled.

Absol finally took a deep breath and let out its cry. The vibrations hit me like full blows from boulders and my ears felt like they were burning. I finally reached Sparky and I tried pulling the robot hand open.

"Oh no!" I heard Meowth cry. "This thing's gonna blow thanks to all those hits!"

"Girl! Get out of there!" I heard the guy call.

"Not until I rescue Sparky!" I called back. "Absol, use Razor Wind on this hand thing!"

Absol swung its head gracefully and the white blade came soaring up to me and Sparky. I moved out of the way just in time as it hit the hand. It split open and Sparky jumped into my arms. I hugged my Pokemon tightly, a smile on my face.

"I missed you so much!" I whispered.

"Pika, Pi!" Sparky replied.

"Get down here!" the guy yelled.

I snapped back to what was going on and I saw smoke rising from the robot. There was a huge explosion and we fell down with all the other metal pieces of the robot.

"Absol!" Absol called, looking at the rubble.

"This isn't good," the guy murmured. "What happened to the girl and the Pikachu?"

He looked at the rubble for a while until it started to move and I rose up, throwing a big piece of metal out of my way, Sparky appeared as well. We got out of the mess and went back to Absol, the guy just blinked. I was about to thank him when I heard the clatter of metal and I spun around to see Team Rocket.

"You'll pay for that, twerp!" Jessie growled at me.

"You stole Sparky from me!" I growled back. "I think we owe you something!"

"Pika!" Sparky smirked.

The guy blinked at me.

"Sparky, use Bolt Tackle!" I yelled.

Sparky nodded and ran forward, being engulfed in its own electricity. "Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" it said as it ran.

"Oh no!" Meowth exclaimed. "Not this again!!!!!!"

"We're doomed!" James yelled.

Sparky kept running. "Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika!!!!!!"

"AH!" Jessie cried.

Sparky collided with them. "Pik-A!" There was a huge explosion and I saw Team Rocket shoot up into the sky.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again," I sighed and they disappeared. I turned to the guy. "Thank you so much for helping Sparky."

"It was nothing," he replied, his blue eyes shining. "It looked lost and those guys didn't seem like its trainer."

I smiled and hugged Sparky when it came back to me with a smile on its face. "Thanks again."

"No problems," he smiled. "My name's Diego. What's yours?"

"Skye," I replied.

"Cool. Are you traveling by yourself?"

I looked at the ground. "Since two nights ago, yeah," I murmured.

Diego tilted his head. "Huh?"

"I was traveling with some friends of mine but........ Never mind. Don't worry."

He shrugged. "Alright. So where are you headed?"

"Lavaridge Town," I replied, looking back up. "I have to earn a Gym Badge from the Gym Leader."

"You mean Flannery?" he smirked. "Good luck. She's one tough Gym Leader."

"I'll beat her," I smirked in return. "She's a Fire Type Trainer, right?"

"Yep."

"Well I have two Water Type Pokemon that would beat her so easily."

"Which ones?"

"Buizel and Gyarados."

"Gyarados? How long have you had it?"

"Uh..... not even an hour......"

Diego rolled his eyes. "Good luck getting it to do as you say then. They only listen to the best trainers."

Absol appeared at my side. "Ab! Absol!"

"How can you have an Absol?" Diego asked. "Aren't they extremely rare to catch?"

"Yep," I smiled. "Absol chose me as a trainer."

"Wow. How? How can it _choose_ you?"

"An Absol chooses its trainer. If they don't think they're worthy then they don't go with them. Absol thought I was worthy after I saved it from a pack of Mightyena."

Absol smiled. "Ab!"

"Cool. But still... a Gyarados is different."

"We'll see about that," I said. "Why don't we battle?"

He sighed. "Your loss. Don't come crying to me when you lose."

"Oh I won't," I smiled.

I returned Absol and we walked through the forest to a huge lake. We faced each other, at least ten meters apart.

"Skarmory, you're up," Diego said to his Pokemon.

I grabbed a Pokeball and threw it. "Go, Gyarados!"

My Gyarados appeared in the water and I caught the Pokeball again.

"Let's begin," Diego said. "Ladies first."

"Thanks, I think," I muttered. "Okay, Gyarados! Use Hyper Beam at Skarmory!"

Gyarados looked at me, growling.

"Come on, Gyarados!" I growled back. "You're supposed to listen to me! Now, use Hyper Beam!"

Gyarados turned towards where Skarmory and Diego were. A yellow sphere formed in its mouth. Skarmory flew up into the air, but Gyarados didn't change its target.

"Not good!" I suddenly realized. "Diego, get out of the way!"

Diego looked at me and then up at Gyarados. The giant blue Pokemon fired a Hyper Beam and he just got out of the way before he was hit.

"I told you!" he said to me. "You can't control it yet!"

"It wasn't my fault!" I mumbled.

"Skarmory, show this Pokemon who's the best!" Diego smirked. "Use Steel Wing!"

Skarmory flew at Gyarados with shining white wings. Gyarados looked at it and swung its tail up, slamming it into Skarmory and sending it crashing into the water.

"Gyarados, use Dragon Rage!" I called, hoping the attack wouldn't go wrong. I knew Steel Types were bad against Fire Type attacks, and Dragon Rage was exactly that.

Gyarados looked at me and turned away, its head held up high stubbornly.

I growled. "Gyarados!!!!!"

Gyarados swung its tail at Diego and me and we fell backwards as its tail slammed into the ground in front of us.

"Would you listen to me for once!" I growled.

Gyarados was still looking away stubbornly but then it was hit by Skarmory's Steel Wing attack.

I blinked as Gyarados growled at Skarmory, hitting it back into the water with its tail. Fire appeared in its mouth and it shot down at Skarmory, hitting it directly.

"Skarmory!" Diego called.

"That's the way to do it!" I smiled.

"It's not even listening to you," Diego muttered.

"And? It's still beating your Skarmory ain't it?"

Diego shrugged. "We'll see about that. Skarmory, use Spikes!"

The Dragon Rage attack disappeared as metal spikes flew up at Gyarados. The blue Pokemon tilted its head to the side and the spikes flew past harmlessly.

"Now use Air Cutter!" Diego called.

Skarmory got back into the air and it flew down at Gyarados with extremely high speed.

Gyarados looked at it and tilted its head again. Skarmory missed it completely and Gyarados turned to watch it land in the water again.

I growled. "Gyarados, use Twister!"

Gyarados looked at me and back at Skarmory. Water rose up and formed a huge twister. It got as tall as Gyarados itself and it flew towards Skarmory.

"Skarmory, dodge it!" Diego called.

Skarmory managed to get out of the way just in time.

"Gyarados, use Dragon Rage!"

Gyarados opened its mouth and fire flew out of its mouth, hitting Skarmory as it flew in the air.

Skarmory cried out and fell to the ground, struggling to stand up.

"Now use Hyper Beam!" I smiled.

Gyarados fired a Hyper Beam at Skarmory. Skarmory was out but the Hyper Beam was still going. It came up towards Diego and me and we ran to get out of the way.

"Hurry up and return it, O' Mighty Trainer!" Diego growled at me.

I growled back and grabbed Gyarados's Pokeball. "Gyarados, return!"

The red beam shot out but Gyarados tilted its head to avoid it. I growled. "Stop being so STUBBORN!" I yelled.

Gyarados growled and fired another Hyper Beam at us. Diego grabbed me and pulled me out of the way. "Nice work!" he growled at me.

"Thanks!" I rolled my eyes and held the Pokeball up again. "Gyarados, return already!"

Gyarados was finally hit with the red light and it returned into the Pokeball.

"Finally," Diego sighed and returned his Skarmory. "Good job, buddy. You earned a long rest."

"Pika," Sparky said, jumping down from the tree it hid in.

"That was scary," I murmured.

"I told you, you couldn't control it!" Diego said.

"It listened to me after a while!" I bit back.

"Only because it was mad! And it would have thought 'Oh, this chick ain't gonna shut up calling demands at me so why not just do as she says so she SHUTS UP!'"

"It didn't think that!" I growled.

"How do you know?"

"How do _you_!?" I growled.

"I just took a wild guess," Diego smirked.

I grumbled and Sparky sighed.

"You have a lot of training to do with that Gyarados of yours," Diego said. "Otherwise you'll never defeat Flannery."

I sighed. "Yeah I guess so-"

"SKYE!!!!!!"

My head whipped around and I saw people I was hoping not to see in a while. Well, some of them at least, not including Sara. "CRAP!" I growled but then my eyes caught on something. "What the............?"

Two Growlithe's stopped in front of me and sat down, smiling widely. The others caught up, I didn't recognize one of the new girls with the group. Sara and Gary took some deep breaths and I looked down at Brawly and Ash, tied up back to back, blindfolded with duck tape over their mouths.

I looked up at Sara. "............ Hi?"

Sara blinked at me and suddenly growled. "WHERE THE HECK WERE YOU, SKYE!?!?!?!?! I HAD TO DRAG THESE TWO ANNOYING BOYS AROUND EVERYWHERE AS WE WERE TRYING TO FIND YOU ALL BECAUSE YOU TOOK OFF AND THEY WERE BLAMING EACH OTHER FOR YOUR DISAPPEARANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I took a step back, running into Diego. "Sorry," I said and moved away from him. "And sorry, Sara. But, I.............."

"You what!?" Sara growled.

I was frustrated. "I had no other choice!"

"What are you talking about!?" Sara growled. "What didn't you have a choice with!?"

I sighed. "Ash and Brawly......"

Sara looked over her shoulder at them. "Gary, can you untie them, please?"

Gary sighed. "Do I have to?"

"Yes! We have some things to sort out!"

"And who's this?" I asked, looking at the blue-haired girl.

"Oh, my name is Summer," she smiled. "You must be Skye."

"Yeah. I don't suppose you heard when Sara called out my name a few minutes ago," I muttered, watching as Gary untied Ash and Brawly.

"Skye!" Brawly said. "Why did you take off like that? We had no idea where you went and we were worried!"

"I...... uh........" I looked at Ash and back at Brawly. I couldn't bring myself to say it. I didn't want to hurt Brawly.

"What's wrong?" Brawly asked.

"Dude, I told you the other day," Ash said. "Skye chose me over you."

"Get real!" Brawly growled at him. "There's no way she'd choose you over me!"

I flinched.

"Well get a brain and start listening for once!" Ash growled back.

"WOULD YOU BOTH SHUT UP, SIT DOWN AND STOP BEING SO ANNOYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara yelled and they looked at her before sitting down obediently, sitting next to each other, but still glaring at each other.

Sara sighed and turned to me. "Well, Skye? They're arguing over something you must have said. Why don't you clear the air for us?"

"Uh........." Brawly and Ash looked up at me. I looked away from them.

"Well?" Sara mumbled. "We've been searching for our missing friend for two days and we want to know _why_ our friend ran off in the first place!"

"Pikachu!" Sparky called to Pikachu.

"Pika, Pi!" Pikachu smiled, waving. Sparky waved back.

"Well?" Sara crossed her arms and her foot started tapping on the ground. "Please explain."

"Well.. you see....." I looked at Brawly and took a deep breath. "Ever since we ran into Team Rocket the other day and Ash saved me........ I started thinking."

"That's a first," Sara said sarcastically. "Get to the point already!"

"Thinking about what?" Brawly asked.

"Which one of you I liked more," I sighed. "And.... in the end.... I chose......."

Brawly looked at Ash with a terrifying glare, for me anyway, Ash didn't seem bothered.

"Who?" Sara asked.

I looked at the ground. "I chose Ash. We've been through more than me and Brawly have..... I'm so sorry, Brawly......"

"Well, that's settled!" Sara smiled and pulled out Ash's hat, throwing it onto my head. "There you go. You pretty much own his hat now."

"Huh?" I looked up at Sara. "You're not mad now?"

"Nope. I just wanted to know why you- Wait a second! You didn't tell us _why_ you took off!"

"I didn't want to have to tell Brawly because I was afraid that him and Ash would fight and then things would get really bad. I thought that if I just left then they wouldn't believe each other and I wouldn't have to tell the truth to Brawly........"

Sara shrugged. "Okay. But we've found you now and you can't run anymore- Wait. Who's that?"

I looked over my shoulder at Diego. "Oh, that's just Diego. He saved Sparky from Team Rocket. Well... half and half. I actually saved it, he protected it and found it."

Diego nodded. "Hi."

"Hi......" Sara murmured, waving slowly, she then turned to Ash and Brawly. "So- Brawly, stop glaring at Ash!"

Brawly looked up at Sara but his eyes didn't once cross over to me. I knew this would happen.

"Chill out, man," Gary said to Brawly. "It's not the end of the world ya know."

Brawly didn't reply, he just sighed and looked away from everybody.

Sara sighed and gave up. She looked at the edges of the lake. "What happened here?"

Diego smirked. "Skye caught a Gyarados and has no idea how to control it!"

"I do to!" I growled.

"Do not!"

"Do to-"

"You caught a Gyarados?" Sara echoed. I looked at her and nodded. "Isn't that the stubborn Pokemon or something that's hard to train?" I nodded. "Wow. You've finally caught a Pokemon that resembles your own personality."

"HEY!" I growled. "That stubborn thing does not resemble me!"

"Does to."

"Does not!"

"Stop being so stubborn."

"I am not stubborn!"

"Are too."

I growled, crossed my arms and looked away.

"See?" Sara smirked. "STUBBORN!"

"I am not," I muttered.

"Are too!"

"ARE NOT!" I growled.

"Are too," Sara poked her tongue out at me and turned to Summer. "So. I guess we should thank you for helping us find Skye."

"It was nothing, really," Summer smiled. "I was happy to help. Growlithe had fun too."

I looked down at the two Growlithe's. "Which one is which?"

Gary returned his Growlithe, leaving the one on the right. It was still smiling at me and its eyes were shining brightly.

"Uh............ hi?" I murmured to it.

It jumped up and knocked me to the ground, licking my face.

"What the!?" I yelled. "Get off me!"

Growlithe kept licking my face and I tried to push it off. "Get off or I'll get Gyarados out here!"

Growlithe jumped off me and ran back to Summer, hiding behind her.

"No blackmailing!" Sara growled. "That's not nice! And Brawly, if you don't stop acting the way you are, I'll feed you to Skye's Gyarados."

"Oh, and you tell me not to blackmail," I rolled my eyes. "Great example, Sara."

Sara shrugged. "Meh."

"Calm down," Gary sighed. "What are we going to do now?"

"Rest," Sara sat down. "Walking around looking for her"- she pointed up at me -"is exhausting and I need a break!"

"Or are you just lazy?" Diego teased.

Sara looked up at him. "Well, when you have to always go chasing after her"- she was still pointing at me -"being lazy isn't in my vocabulary. I ain't lazy!"

"Looks like it," Diego said. "If you weren't, you wouldn't be sitting down tired."

"Being tired is one thing, pal!" Sara growled. "Being lazy is another thing."

"I'm sure."

"Smart alec!" she growled. "You think you're so smart, but you're actually a hollow-headed dimwit!"

"Am not," he smiled.

"Are to."

"Am not."

Sara growled and stood up, holding up a Pokeball. "I'll battle you if you keep talking like a stuck up little brat!"

"Go ahead," he smiled and pulled out a Pokeball of his own. "Let's battle."

Sara nodded and threw her Pokeball. "Glaceon, let's go!" Glaceon appeared and smiled up at Diego, blinking at him.

Diego threw the Pokeball he held at the water and a giant Pokemon appeared. I looked up at it and blinked. "How the.....?"

"Gyarados, let's show this little trainer how to battle," Diego smirked.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING LITTLE!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Sara ran over to him, her fists clenched. Diego put a hand up on her head so she couldn't reach him. She swung her arms forward trying to hit him.

"You, maybe," he mumbled. "Is this a Pokemon battle or a fist fight?"

"Both!" Sara grumbled. "Once Glaceon beats your Gyarados, I'm gonna smash the heck outta you!"

"You can try."

"Stop acting like your Mr. Hotshot around here!" she growled. "Because you're not!"

"Then who is?"

"........................ Gary."

Gary blinked. "What!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

Sara looked to the corner of her eyes, looking at him as best as she could. She waved. "Hi."

I tried so hard not to crack up laughing. "Looks like Gary does have a girlfriend!" I smirked.

"And after I smash Diego, I'm gonna smash you, Skye!" Sara growled.

"Crap!" I exclaimed and hid behind Summer. "Hi."

"..................... Hi?" Summer replied.

Sara jumped away from Diego. "Alright, Glaceon. Let's do this."

"Ladies first," Diego smiled.

"I was gonna go first anyway," Sara smiled. "Glaceon, use Blizzard!"

Glaceon turned to Gyarados and opened its mouth. Snow flew at Gyarados, as well as a chilly breeze.

"Gyarados, use Dragon Rage!" Diego called.

I looked up at Diego's Gyarados and it obediently opened its mouth, firing a Dragon Rage attack at Glaceon. That was bad, Fire Type moves are strong against Ice Type Pokemon.

"Glaceon, dodge it!" Sara called and Glaceon jumped gracefully out of the way, landing on the ground further off from where the attack hit the ground.

"Use Ice Beam!" Sara commanded.

"Dragon Rage!" Diego called.

The two Pokemon fired their attacks at one another and there was a huge explosion where they collided, but the Dragon Rage kept on coming.

"Glaceon, dodge it!" Sara called.

Glaceon jumped up, but the fire burned its feet. Glaceon landed on the ground but stumbled.

"Oh, Glaceon!" Sara exclaimed. "Come on. You can do it."

Glaceon got back up. "Glace!" it said, determination shining in its eyes.

"Alright, use Ice Beam, on the water!" Sara called.

Glaceon nodded and fired an Ice Beam at the water near Gyarados, making a clear path. Glaceon ran onto it and looked up at Gyarados. Glaceon was tiny compared to that monster.

"Now, use Iron Tail!" Sara commanded.

Glaceon jumped up, its tail shining white.

Gyarados tried moving out of the way, but it was struck by the attack and fell back. Glaceon did a backflip and landed on the ice again, watching as Gyarados fell into the water.

"Nice work, Glaceon!" Sara smiled.

"Gyarados, attack from the water!" Diego called.

Glaceon looked around, trying to find a shadow in the water which would warn it of Gyarados's location, but it couldn't see it.

"Glaceon, beneath you!" Sara called but it was too late. Gyarados rose up from under the ice, making it shatter and Glaceon was thrown up into the air.

"Glaceon!" it cried.

"Gyarados, use Bite!" Diego ordered.

I watched as Gyarados rose up with its mouth open, ready to bite Glaceon which couldn't dodge or anything in the air. Glaceon wasn't meant for flying!

"Glaceon, look out!" Gary called.

Sara growled as Gyarados kept rising up, teeth shining. "Glaceon, use Ice Beam!"

"Gyarados, watch out!" Diego called but it was useless. Glaceon fired an Ice Beam and Gyarados's whole mouth froze.

Glaceon landed on its frozen mouth and jumped down towards the water.

"Use Ice Beam to land properly!" Sara called.

Glaceon fired an Ice Beam at the water and formed a new piece of land, made of ice. Glaceon landed on it with excellent balance and looked up at Gyarados.

"Gyarados, use Hyper Beam!" Diego called.

Gyarados looked down at Glaceon, a yellow light shining in its mouth. All of a sudden, a golden beam shot down at Glaceon, but the little blue Pokemon was ready. It dived down into the water.

Sara smiled as the Hyper Beam shattered the ice land, not hurting Glaceon at all.

"Find Glaceon and use Bite!" Diego said.

"Glaceon, use Ice Beam!" Sara called. "Trap it!"

Glaceon's head broke the surface of the water, behind Gyarados and it opened its mouth, firing an Ice Beam at it. The attack hit Gyarados where it met with the water. The ice surrounded Gyarados and it couldn't move from its spot, it was stuck.

"Gyarados, get out of there!" Diego growled.

Gyarados glared at Diego and tried to struggle free.

"I don't think it likes you as a Trainer," I muttered.

"At least it does what I tell it!" Diego bit back, I crossed my arms and looked away, back to the battle.

"Glaceon, use Blizzard!" Sara smirked.

Glaceon used its Blizzard attack and Gyarados was slowly starting to turn into an icicle.

"This battle is won already," Sara sighed. "Do you give up?"

"No way," Diego growled. "Gyarados, use Hyper Beam!"

Gyarados glared at him again, it wasn't even able to move its head let alone use an attack.

"Glaceon, use Iron Tail!" Sara ordered.

Glaceon gracefully swam over to Gyarados and jumped up on the land of ice around it, looking up at Gyarados. It jumped up, tail shining white, and slammed its tail into Gyarados's side, making the ice shatter.

"Now, use Bite!" Sara called.

Glaceon smiled and bit down on Gyarados's side, making it roar in pain. Glaceon bit down and didn't let go.

"Now use Scratch!" Sara smirked.

Glaceon, without taking its teeth out of Gyarados, held its two front paws up and started scratching away at Gyarados's side. It roared in pain again.

"Gyarados, use Thrash!" Diego called and Gyarados started moving around, the ice surrounding it starting to crack.

Sara's eyes widened. "Glaceon, get out of there!!!!!!!!!"

Glaceon let go of Gyarados and jumped into the water, swimming deeper down. There was a loud crack and Gyarados was free of the ice prison.

"Go after it!" Diego growled. "Time to bite it back!"

Gyarados dived under water to go after Glaceon, Sara smirked. She waited and waited, knowing Glaceon would have the same idea. All of a sudden. "GLACEON USE ICE BEAM!!"

We all waited and waited for a long time after we saw a blue light. And then Glaceon appeared, swimming back to shore with a huge smile on its face.

It got out of the water and Sara hugged it. "Great job. Have fun, Diego."

"Huh?"

"You have to go after your Pokemon," she smirked. "It should be somewhere at the bottom of the lake."

Diego sighed. "Great, time to go swimming."

I looked at him sympathetically, taking out a Pokeball. "Here. You can use Buizel to help you get your Gyarados back."

He looked at me and I sent out my Buizel. The little orange Pokemon stood with its arms crossed. "Bui!" it said.

"Buizel, can you help Diego get his Pokemon from the bottom of the lake?" I asked.

"Bui, Bui!" Buizel was alarmed at first and it nodded, rushing over to Diego.

"Have fun," Sara smiled and watched as Buizel and Diego went into the water to go get Gyarados.

"That was a great battle," Gary smiled, walking over to Sara.

"Thanks," Sara smiled back, patting Glaceon. "It was amazing to watch. Glaceon has some really pretty moves."

"Sure does," Gary sat down with her. "And since when am I a hotshot?"

Sara tensed up, her eyes wide. She refused to make eye-contact, she just nervously continued patting her Pokemon.

"Well?"

"Um............... I don't know," Sara muttered and it was almost impossible to understand her.

Gary crossed his arms. "You'd better fess up."

"And if I don't?"

Gary cocked an eyebrow at her. "Do you _want_ me to kiss you again?"

".......................................!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Sara's eyes were wide and she finally managed to make eye-contact, unintentionally.

"Well?" he smirked.

"I just....... I only said that because........ Because I had to say _something_ against Diego!"

"Right," Gary wasn't convinced.

I smirked, but I was definitely staying out of it. I didn't feel like getting beat up worse than I did when I fought Ash. I looked over to Summer, she was patting her Growlithe. Ash and Brawly were still sitting on the ground next to each other, but Brawly looked more upset than angry now. I sighed, that was the reason I took off in the first place. I didn't want to hurt him.

I walked over to him. "Brawly? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, not looking at me.

"I'm sorry-"

"You say that so much it's hard to believe."

I growled. "Fine. If you want to be like that I couldn't care less!" I turned and walked off.

"Nice one," Ash sighed and got up, running after me. "Skye, chill."

"Why should I!?" I growled, still walking.

"He needs to get over it," Ash murmured. "He'll accept it after a while."

I stopped and Ash had to quickly stop before he ran into me. "He'll never accept it."

"Yes he will," Ash sighed. "Give him some time."

I growled. "That's gonna take a miracle. I'll be a Pokemon Master by the time he gets over himself!"

Ash rolled his eyes. "Take it easy. Don't be like this."

"He started it," I grumbled.

"Hey, did you get your Pokemon?" I turned my head to see Diego dragging himself out of the water with Buizel guiding him the whole way.

"Yeah, frozen solid. Buizel had to use Sonicboom a thousand times to break it just so I could return my Pokemon!" Diego mumbled.

Once Diego reached the shore, Buizel ran over to me and I smiled before returning into its Pokeball. "Thanks, Buizel," I murmured.

"Now...." Sara stood up, cracking her knuckles. "Can I smash you?"

"No," Diego replied simply. "You wouldn't even hurt me."

"Well Skye managed to hurt Ash when her and him got into their little punch-up!" Sara growled. "So I think I'd manage to hurt you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Try me!" Diego smirked, holding his arms out. "Free shot."

Sara smirked and ran at Diego, throwing a first forward. Diego quickly grabbed her fist and spun her around him. She thought she would be smart and trip him, but she fell down with him.

"OW!" Sara whined. "That was not what I expected-" she looked up at Diego, lying on top of her after her little 'smart' idea. Her eyes widened and she closed her eyes. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara screamed. "GET OFF OF ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Diego jumped up. "Sorry! I didn't mean for that to happen, I swear! It was your own fault that that happened!"

Sara sat up, wiping herself off. "Ew!!!!!!!! Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew.......... GROSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she made it look like she had germs all over her as she stood up wiping her clothes down quickly. "If you ever do that again you're dead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Hey, you did it, not me," he smirked. "It was your fault."

Sara looked over at Gary, he wasn't looking too happy. "What's wrong with you?" Sara asked in her normal voice.

Gary looked up at her. "Nothing. Forget it," he looked away, his expression showed that he was angry, but the redness in his face showed that he was jealous.

Sara smirked, getting a sneaky idea. She got up. "Diego......."

"What?" he asked.

She glanced at Gary for a second before looking back at Diego and walking over to him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing," she smiled a cheesy smile, her eyes closed. When she stood a meter away from him, she glanced at Gary again, and then looked back at Diego. She smirked and jumped, tackling Diego to the ground.

I blinked, watching Sara land on top of Diego. She recovered quickly and sat up, sitting on his stomach. He looked up at her with complete confusement. "What the hell!?!?!?!!? What are you doing!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

"Nothing," Sara smiled and glanced at Gary again, the poor guy was absolutely red in the face.

"Sara, can you please get off of me?" Diego said.

"Nope," Sara smiled and started using his chest as a drum set, banging her hands on his chest, not too hard, but enough to make a noise.

"What are you doing!?"

"Playing the drums," Sara replied simply. "You really are hollow."

"Get off of me!"

"Nope." Sara moved her hand forward and banged her hand on his head.

"SARA!"

"What? I'm only using your head as another drum," she mumbled.

I looked over to Gary, he was so red in the face it was obvious he was jealous. But of what?

"That's enough!" Diego growled and grabbed her wrists. He pushed her forward and made her stand up, he managed to stand up as well, still holding her wrists. She tried freeing her wrists but he had good grip.

"Why won't you let me use you as a drum!?" Sara whined.

"Because I ain't a drum!" he growled.

"You sound like one."

"Well I'm not."

"Too bad," she tried taking her arms back again to keep using him as a drum but it didn't work. "Let me go!!!!!!!!!" she whined like a child.

"No."

"What do I have to do to make you let me go?" she asked.

"Say you won't use me as a drum," he replied.

"But, but, but......... NO! LET ME GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she still whined like a child.

"No."

She growled but stopped, glancing at Gary with a smirk. She looked back at Diego with the same smirk. "I know. I'll force you to let me go."

"Uh...... How?" he asked but started freaking out when he realized.

"Oh no!" I growled. "Sara don't do that! I don't have popcorn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Too bad," Sara said and continued leaning up towards Diego. Gary's eyes were wide as he watched Sara. Diego had no idea what to do, he was frozen on the spot.

Sara's lips touched his cheek and he was literally frozen to the spot. Not really but, he was scared. She stayed like that for five seconds and wrenched her arms free. Then she pulled back and stepped away from him, doing a little curtsy with a huge grin on her face. "I knew it would work."

"Uh......................................................................................." Diego had no idea what to do.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?!?!?!?!" Gary growled.

"Oh... you saw that?" Sara acted stupid. "Whoops...... My bad...... You didn't get jealous did you?"

Gary growled, his face was redder than a cherry and he looked away, his arms crossed.

Sara smirked. _I knew that would work_, she thought. _So he does like me after all_.

I ran over to her. "I didn't have popcorn! I told you not to do it!"

"Well I wasn't going to wait forever for you to get popcorn so I could free myself!" Sara rolled her eyes.

I sighed. "Still..... that was funny. Did you see the look on his face!? He was so nervous!"

"No," Sara shrugged. "My eyes were closed."

"Like they normally are when you go to kiss someone," I muttered.

Sara smirked. "Oh really? Oh yeah, you would know, wouldn't you... after all, you have kissed Brawly....."

I was the one that was nervous now. I wonder what she would say if I told her about Ash as well..........

"Huh? What's wrong with you?" Sara asked. "I didn't cross any lines did I?"

"No, not at all!" I said. "It's all good!"

Sara somehow guessed it. She glanced at Ash. "Ohhhhhh...... so it was more than just Brawly, eh?"

"No...." I muttered.

"I'm sure," Sara crossed her arms. She looked up at Ash. "When was this?"

Ash was just as nervous. "Uh..........."

"When was it!?" Sara growled.

"The night I took off," I sighed. "I talked to Ash for a bit and...... yeah.... and then we went back to the campsite and I left."

"Aww.. how sweet," Sara smiled. "He gave you a good bye kiss, even though he didn't know you were leaving. Aww.........."

"Shut up!" I grumbled.

"Why? Don't you want anyone to know Ash kissed you?"

"I couldn't care less!" I growled and glanced in Brawly's direction. "I don't want him knowing. If he knew it would hurt him even more.........."

"Since when do you care?" Sara asked. "Didn't you snap at him before?"

"He started it," I became defensive again.

Sara shrugged. "I won't tell him." She looked over her shoulder. "Are you frozen or something?"

I looked around her at Diego, he was still standing there, his eyes wide with shock. "Uh.. Glaceon, what did you do?"

"Glace!" Glaceon shook its head, it was over with Gary, the jealous boy.

"I think you went too far," I whispered to Sara. "Gary looks really hurt."

Sara looked at him. "Oh well.... He'll get over it...."

"That's nice."

"I know."

"Note the sarcasm..."

"I did."

I sighed. "You should talk to him."

"You should talk to Brawly but you don't hear me complaining."

"Brawly is only gonna push me away. I won't even bother."

"Then I won't bother with Gary."

"You can't do that."

"Yes I can. And I will."

I rolled my eyes.

"Go talk to Brawly!" she pointed in Brawly's direction.

"Fine. Just so long as you talk to Gary," I muttered. Sara nodded and walked over to him, I slowly made my way back to Brawly, expecting to be brushed off again.

I sat down in front of him, showing no signs of moving. "Brawly...."

"What?"

"Look, I'm-"

"If you're gonna say sorry, don't bother," Brawly muttered.

"Brawly would you at least listen to me!?" I growled.

He was silent.

"You don't understand. Ash has been around longer than you have, we've been through more than what you and I have...."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Well.. for starters when we were trying to get those documents back for Devon Corporation and we were in the cave... I wouldn't stop screaming but Ash wasn't going to leave me by myself... and then later on, Ash was upset because he thought I liked Paul and he went for a walk. I went after him but ended up running into Team Aqua and would have been beaten up if Ash and Pikachu didn't come along......."

"So?"

"You're not even paying attention!" I growled.

"Who's Paul?"

"The guy back in Mauville City that helped me hide from Team Aqua..."

"A guy you were toying with?"

"What!?"

"You're just playing around, messing with everybody. You say you like someone and then you say you like someone else and then you change your mind again.... You can't stick to a proper relationship can you? Because all you do is play around with everyone's feelings."

I was cut. That was really harsh, whether I deserved it or not. I stood up. "Fine. If that's how you think of me, go ahead." I turned and I walked away before the tears came. I would have apologized but he wouldn't have allowed it.

"Skye are you-" Sara couldn't finish, I walked right past her.

"Skye?" Ash murmured.

I stopped when I reached him and I gave his hat back. I kept on walking. Sparky looked up from playing with Pikachu and ran after me.

"Skye, wait!" Ash called.

Sara turned to look at Brawly. She walked over to him. "What the hell did you say to her!?" she growled.

"The truth," he muttered, lying down with his hands behind his head, looking up at the sky.

"What truth!?" her voice was turning into a snarl.

"That all she does is mess around with people and toy with them, not caring if she hurts them or not-"

"HOW THE HELL COULD YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Sara snarled. "SKYE ISN'T LIKE THAT! THAT WAS WAY OUT OF LINE!!!!!!!!!!"

"So?"

Sara clenched her fists. "Okay, I get the idea that you're upset because Skye chose Ash over you, but that does not give you the right to tear at her heart! That was such a selfish thing to say to her..... I can't believe you would say something like that....... I wouldn't have expected something like that from a Gym Leader... Or a _former_ Gym Leader for that matter....... Her brother Jake would kill you if he knew what you said to her."

"Like I care."

"You never care!" Sara growled.

Brawly stood up and she had to look up to see him now. "Look, if she wants to mess up people's lives, she can. She seems to be good at that."

Sara growled and punched him in the stomach, and then in the face. She turned and stormed off.

"Sara, where are you going?" Gary asked.

"To look after my friend!" Sara snapped. She looked over her shoulder at Brawly. "It's what friends are supposed to do after all. Something _**you**_ wouldn't understand!" She walked off in the direction I took with Sparky.


	16. Impossible Choice, Life or Death

"Pika, Pi."

"Don't worry, Sparky. I'm alright," I murmured, leaning my back against the tree we stopped at.

"Pika," Sparky wasn't convinced. Tears were forming in my eyes and I pulled my knees up, hugging them against my chest. The tears fell faster than an Electrike could run and I hid my face by looking down.

"Skye..."

I looked up at Sara. I tried wiping my tears away.

"Hey. I talked to Brawly," she sat down beside me, putting her arm around me. "What he said was too far. You're not like that, I know you're not. So don't worry about what he says, alright?"

"But..... He was really angry..."

"He's just a party pooper," Sara tried lightening the mood. "You know how he is..... He'll get over it, don't worry. And before long, he'll be the one trying to apologize to you."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," I mumbled. "I didn't want to hurt him. I swear I didn't..... But I couldn't help it....... I just wanted to be with Ash more than Brawly.."

"It's okay," Sara murmured comfortingly. "It's your choice to make, not his. If you don't want to be with Brawly anymore he should know how to respect that choice. He shouldn't be as mad as he is. He just can't handle it at the moment. He was really worried when we woke up and you were gone. And only to find out you wanted to be with Ash hurt him a lot..... But it's not your fault...."

"Yes it is......."

"Don't say that!" Sara's voice hardened. "It's not your fault! It's his fault! If he wants to be a loser about it then he can! Don't go blaming yourself if he can't get over it!"

"Too late...." I hid my face again.

Sara sighed. "I'm gonna go talk to him again. Will you be alright here by yourself?"

I nodded.

"Sparky, look after her," Sara said. Sparky nodded and she got up and left. I just sat there, crying even more now.

"Pika, Pikachu," Sparky hugged me.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Brawly you selfish, cold-hearted _**bastard**_!!!!!"

"Sara, calm down!" Gary said, trying to stop her. "What's wrong?"

"_**He's what's wrong**_!!!!!!!!!" Sara snapped. "Let me go so I can smash the hell out of him!!!!!!!!!"

"No way!" Gary said but Sara turned on him and pushed him over before storming over to Brawly.

"Let me guess. You talked to Skye?" Brawly asked as Sara walked over to him, fists clenched into tight balls, so tight there were drops of blood falling from her fingers.

"Yeah, I talked to her," Sara snarled. "And you know what? She's all torn up! She's crying after what you said to her! She didn't deserve that! She didn't deserve to be called a Player! She didn't want to hurt you, so you decide that because you're upset you might as well make her even _**WORSE**_!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Chill out," Brawly muttered. "She'll get over it and find someone else to mess with."

Sara growled and threw her fist forward, getting him in the gut. He cringed and she punched him in the face before grabbing his throat and holding him against a tree.

"Say that again, I dare you," she snarled in his face. "I know Skye better than you do. So don't think you can call her a Player and say she'll go mess around with someone else's feelings, because to me, that sounds a lot like you."

"Yeah right," he pushed her off him but she punched him in the face, sending him to the ground.

Sara growled and sat on his stomach, punching him in the face repeatedly, holding his arms down with her knees.

"Sara, what are you doing!?" Gary exclaimed, pulling her up to her feet.

Brawly got up but she kicked him in the leg, close to the knee.

"Calm down!" Gary told her.

"NO!" Sara yelled. "He's gonna pay for what he said to Skye!"

"It's only the truth," Brawly muttered.

Sara stopped and took a deep breath. Gary relaxed a little, thinking she was okay, but then she spun around and threw him backwards, spun back around and slammed her fist into Brawly's face, near his temple.

"Are you trying to kill me or something!?" Brawly growled.

"I couldn't care less what happens to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara snarled. "You hurt Skye and you're gonna pay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She slammed her other fist into his gut. She grabbed him by the throat and held him against the tree again, putting as much pressure on his neck as she could with a flat palm.

"Sara! Calm down-"

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara nearly screamed. "STAY OUT OF THIS, GARY! THIS GUY IS DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Sara-"

"SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She punched Brawly in the stomach with her other hand. She punched him in the face a fair few times and blood was running from his nose and mouth.

"Sara, please!" Gary said. "Calm down!"

"NO!" Sara yelled, a deep snarl in her throat and she punched Brawly in the face again, up near the temples once more.

"SARA!" Gary grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away from Brawly, pushing her against another tree and she couldn't move. "Don't do this anymore. Calm down!"

"I'll kill him!" Sara snarled. "Let me go!"

"No. Not until you calm down!"

"Good luck then," she tried pushing him off but it didn't work. She looked down at Brawly who fell to his knees trying to breathe and she growled, still trying to push Gary away.

"Sara, you're scaring me," Summer said. "Don't do this-"

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sara yelled at the girl, still trying to push Gary away.

"She's not the only one getting scared," Gary mumbled and she looked at him. "You're scaring me too. Sara, I don't like seeing you this way. Please don't try and hurt Brawly anymore.... Just calm down...."

Sara was quiet for a moment, but then growled. "NO! He made Skye really upset and he'll pay for it!"

"Well isn't Skye more important right now?"

"Of course she is," Sara growled. "But I want him dead first..."

"Don't say that!" Gary murmured.

"Why not?" Sara snarled. "After all, it's the _truth_!" she looked down at Brawly. "You would know all about the _**truth**_ wouldn't you? You stupid bastard!"

Brawly actually laughed and a louder snarl rose up in her throat and she tried that much harder to push Gary away. "You are so dead!!!!!!!!" she growled. "Skye should be allowed to make her own choices! So why do you blame her for it!?"

Brawly stopped laughing, looking up at her.

"You don't control what she does or how she feels!" Sara snarled. "You're not the boss of her! If she liked you and now likes Ash, it's because she is just a kid! She doesn't know what the heck to do! But of course you wouldn't understand that would you!? If you think you're able to try and take advantage of her just because you're three years older than her, think again! If you hurt her any more than you already have, I swear I WILL KILL YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Sara, please calm down!" Gary said.

"No!"

"Please!"

"WHY SHOULD I!?!?!?!?!?!"

"Just please calm down! This doesn't help anybody!"

"It helps me!" she growled. "But then I guess he can't hurt Skye any more than he already has....... I STILL WANT HIM DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Sara!"

"I'm not calming-" Sara was taken by surprise as Gary kissed her, forcing her against the tree so she couldn't move. She tried pushing him off but it didn't work. He put so much force into the kiss she forgot all about Brawly for a split second. She relaxed a little bit, giving in. She couldn't really push him away anyway so there was no point struggling against him.

He finally broke away from her and she looked right into his eyes, resting her forehead against his. "I'm sorry," Gary murmured.

"No. I should be," Sara sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so worked up," her voice was no more than a whisper.

Gary nodded. "You're right."

Sara didn't cause another argument. She hugged him, leaning her head on his shoulder. He hugged her back, one hand on her back, one hand up on her head, brushing through her hair. "It's alright now," Gary murmured.

"I know. But I still hate Brawly," she whispered. "I don't want him to hurt Skye again."

"Speaking of Skye, where's Ash?" Gary asked.

Sara lifted her head and looked around. "Don't know. Don't care." She rested her head on his shoulder again.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Skye. Are you alright?"

I looked up from patting Sparky on the head and saw Ash. "Yeah....... I'm fine," I looked back to Sparky, but my hand dropped.

Ash sat next to me. "What did Brawly say to you?"

"I'd rather not repeat it......" I murmured.

"Alright. Don't worry about it then," he smiled. "It's alright you know. He can't stay mad forever."

"He can try....."

"Well I hope you know Sara got at him," Ash said.

I looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"She had something to say, and so did her fists."

"She didn't!?"

"She did."

"Why!?"

"For whatever he said to you," Ash murmured. "She thinks of you as a little sister. She wants to take care of you."

"Oh..... but..... how bad did she hurt him?"

"You shouldn't be worrying about him-"

"How bad?"

Ash sighed. "Put it this way..... she wanted to kill him and she hit him near the temples a few times......"

I sighed. "But I guess he was right though..... I am just a player....."

"A what?"

"He pretty much called me a player."

"You're not a player!" Ash insisted. "Why did he say that?"

"Because I mess around with people's feelings and don't seem to care-"

"Hey, that's not true!" Ash said. "You're nothing like that, Skye!"

I was silent.

Ash put his arms around me and pulled me over to him, hugging me tightly. "Don't take what Brawly said seriously. He's just mad and upset and he doesn't realize what he's saying...."

"Nice try," I muttered.

Ash sighed. "You're hard to convince..."

"Yeah... my mum used to say that........."

"Really?"

"Yeah..."

"That must be because you're stubborn."

I sighed. "Yeah... maybe."

Ash blinked. _Not good_, he thought. _If she won't disagree against people saying she's stubborn, something's seriously wrong_.......

I pretty much lied down on him for a while and I only just noticed Pikachu standing next to Sparky.

"Skye, Brawly is upset, you know that," Ash said after a while. "But because of the age difference, it might be that he expects something a little more from you."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. But he's three years older than you. He forgets you're only 13."

"Okay............"

"What I mean is, you shouldn't worry yourself too much...." Ash said calmly. "He just expects more from you because he's 16 for crying out loud. But Sara, Gary and I will be there for you if you need us."

"Thanks..." I murmured.

"Pika, Pi," Pikachu smiled and put its paw up.

"Pikachu will too," Ash said.

"Pika!" Sparky put its paw up too.

"Sparky as well," I murmured, a tiny smile coming onto my face.

"Is that a smile?" Ash asked, pretending to sound surprised.

"No," I tried hiding my face.

"I'm pretty sure that was a smile," Ash said.

"It wasn't."

"I don't believe you. Smile again."

"No," now my voice was childish.

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because there's no reason to smile......"

"Oh yeah?" he looked down at me.

"Yeah."

"We'll see about that," he smirked and started tickling me.

I tried my best not to laugh, but I failed and cracked up laughing, trying to get him to stop.

"So you do smile after all," he said and stopped tickling me.

I looked up at him and crossed my arms.

"Stubborn," he mumbled.

"Cheap shot!" I said childishly.

"Come on. It wasn't that bad. You laughed at least."

"And?"

"Don't become all stubborn on me now."

"I am not stubborn."

"Are too."

"Are not."

"Are too."

"......................." he looked down at me. My eyes were closed and my breathing had slowed down. I curled up and he just watched me sleep.

"Pika?" Pikachu tilted its head to one side. Sparky tilted its head to the other side and their heads collided. They fell over and Ash shook his head with a smile on his face. "You two are strange."

"Pika!" Sparky objected and was going to shock him but quickly re-thought, remembering me.

Ash poked his tongue out and Sparky crossed its arms, turning around.

"Hey, Ash. How's Skye- Oh." Ash looked up and saw Sara.

"Hi," he replied. "She's alright now."

"How can you tell."

"She argued against her stubbornness."

"Okay. Sounds like she's back to normal. And at least she's not crying anymore."

"Yeah," Ash smiled. "I actually got her to laugh as well."

"Really? How'd you manage that?" Sara was shocked.

"I tickled her," Ash smirked. "It works every time."

"It doesn't work on me," Sara said. "Gary's already tried it."

"How bad did you beat Brawly?" Ash asked.

"I don't think he'll be insulting anybody for a while," she muttered. "I made sure of that....."

"How?"

"I think I cracked his jaw. He hasn't spoken a single word since I hit him a few more times. I don't think you were there when Gary........"

"When Gary, what?"

"No, never mind," Sara smirked.

"Tell me."

"Nope. That's for me to know and you to find out," she poked her tongue out at him.

"Okay," he looked down at me.

"You really do like her, eh?" Sara murmured. Ash nodded. "I thought so. You have since you first met her."

Ash quickly looked up at her. "W-what do you mean?"

Sara smirked. "Well she did save Pikachu from Team Rocket and you said she could come with us on her journey seeing as we were heading the same way. You were deeply grateful that she saved Pikachu and you've loved her ever since. You can't deny it!"

Ash sighed. "I guess you're right....."

"I knew it," Sara smirked. "I'm so smart."

"Yeah. So what did Gary do?"

"He kissed me- HEY! CHEAP SHOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Ash nearly cracked up laughing and I woke up, lifting my head.

"What's going on?" I muttered.

"Whoopsies," Sara murmured. "Sorry, Skye. Go back to sleep."

"What's this about Gary kissing you?"

Sara sighed. "Nice work, Ash!"

"Cool," Ash smiled.

"So.......?" I murmured.

"He only did it to calm me down," Sara replied.

I was wide awake. "How's Brawly!?"

"I don't see why you're so worried about him....." Sara growled. "He deserved that beating. But he's fine. Summer is looking after him. Little goodie-goodie princess!"

I sighed. "Righteo."

"Go back to sleep," Sara said.

"Why?"

"You look tired. Just go back to sleep."

"Okay," I curled up on Ash's lap again and fell asleep almost instantly.

"I don't know how this is going to work," Sara sighed. "I don't think Brawly's going anywhere any time soon. And we're not letting her leave."

"Not a chance," Ash smiled, looking down at me.

Sara smiled. "I know you won't hurt her, Ash."

"Same here," Ash said. "I'd hurt myself before I'd hurt her."

"I know."

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Come on, let's get moving, Gary!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Gary yawned. "Where's Ash and Skye?"

"Still where Skye ran off to yesterday," Sara sighed. "She wouldn't wake up and Ash didn't want to risk waking her up by carrying her so they slept where they were."

"Right." Gary sat up and packed his sleeping bag into his bag, Sara did the same.

"Glaceon, can you go get them, please?" Sara asked.

"Glace! Glaceon!" Glaceon nodded and ran into the forest.

"How's Brawly?" Sara asked Gary. "Did _Summer_ fix him up alright?"

"She did actually. And you didn't crack his jaw at all, just bruised it."

"Damn," Sara grumbled. "That means if he talks I have to waste my time smashing him again!"

Gary sighed.

"Glace!!!!! Glaceon! Glace, Glace!" Sara turned around and saw her blue Pokemon running back with its eyes wide.

"Glaceon, what's the matter!?" Sara exclaimed, crouching down to pat her Pokemon, calming it down.

"Glace! Glaceon, Glace!" Glaceon said, turning its head back to where me and Ash had been.

"What's happened?" Gary asked.

Sara looked up as Summer and Brawly showed up. "What's wrong with Glaceon?" Summer asked.

"I don't know," Sara murmured. "Glaceon, show me." Sara stood up and ran after her Pokemon through the forest, the others chasing after her. Diego had left before nightfall.

They ran through the trees to where me and Ash were supposed to be, but we weren't there. Sparky and Pikachu were gone as well.

"Where would they have gone?" Gary murmured.

"Maybe they took off," Brawly muttered.

"Would you shut up!?" Sara snarled. "Before I decide to try and kill you again!"

Brawly grumbled and kept quiet.

Glaceon looked around, smelling the ground. "Glace!" its fur stood on end and it growled, looking over its shoulder at Sara.

"What is it?" Sara asked.

Gary pulled out a Pokeball and threw it. Umbreon appeared on the ground. "Umbreon. We need you to help Glaceon try and find where Skye and Ash are."

Umbreon nodded. "Umbre." it sniffed around with Glaceon, trying to catch the scent. It growled just like Glaceon did.

"Umbreon?" Gary murmured.

Umbreon turned around. "Umbre, Umbreon!"

"Somebody else was here?" Gary asked, Umbreon nodded.

Sara growled. "But who?"

Glaceon disappeared behind a tree, following a scent, then came back with a blue bandanna in its mouth.

Sara took it from Glaceon and looked at the symbol on it. She clenched her fist and growled.

"What is it?" Summer asked.

"Team Aqua!" Sara growled. "They're still at it!"

"We need to find them," Gary said. "Could they have taken them back to Mauville City?"

"I don't think so," Sara murmured. "Glaceon, follow the scent trail."

"Umbreon, you help out," Gary ordered.

Both Pokemon nodded and turned, sniffing the ground side by side. Sara just noticed something. "Umbreon is another evolution of Eevee, right?"

"Yeah."

"Cool."

Gary looked at her and smiled, she smiled back.

Glaceon and Umbreon followed the trail and the group followed them through the forest.

"So, who's Team Aqua?" Summer asked.

"Bad guys," Gary answered. "They've kidnapped Skye before because they want to disrupt the prophecy."

"What prophecy?"

"Forget about it," Gary sighed. "If we find Skye and Ash and you mention it, Skye won't be happy."

"Why?"

"She gets really temperamental about it. She thinks she's not the one in the prophecy. Just don't mention it to her," Gary looked at Summer with a serious gaze. "You saw the scratches on Ash's arm right? And the bruises on him?"

Summer nodded. "What about it?"

"They were caused by Skye."

Summer flinched. "And I thought Sara was dangerous..... They're both as bad as each other..." she whispered to herself.

"Keep your opinions to yourself!" Sara snapped. "Think what you want just keep your mouth shut about it!"

"Sorry," Summer murmured.

"Don't worry about her," Gary sighed. "She was like this last time Skye got taken."

"Yeah, and if you guys don't shut up I'll smash you to hell and back!" Sara growled.

"You don't know the way to hell," Gary teased.

"I'll take one good guess," she pointed to the ground. They were all quiet.

"Glace!"

"Umbre!"

They all stopped when the Pokemon stopped. They looked ahead and saw the bushes moving.

Sara growled, preparing to send Glaceon into battle, but something fell out of the bushes to the ground, unable to stand up properly with injuries all over it. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed and ran over to it. "Are you alright, little one?"

The Pokemon was blue and had black legs, a black sort of mask on its face with black sensor things that looked like another pair of ears hanging down and black on its chest. It had a blue tail and a white oval on each of its arms.

It looked up at her and jumped up, but fell back.

"It's alright," Sara murmured calmly. "I won't hurt you."

The Pokemon looked at her, blinking. Sara pulled out her Pokedex.

"Riolu," it said. "The Emanation Pokemon. The aura that emanates from its body intensifies to alert others if it is afraid or sad. Its body is lithe yet powerful. It can crest three mountains and cross two canyons in one night."

"Wow. You seem like a very strong little Pokemon," Sara murmured. "Do you need any help? You don't look so good."

Riolu shook its head and backed away.

"Get that Pokemon!"

Sara looked up and was thrown aside. "Get away from it, kid!" someone growled and she looked up, growling, clenching her fists.

She jumped to her feet. "Team Aqua!? What are you doing here!? What have you done with Skye and Ash!?"

"They're fine!" the guy smirked. "All tied up at the moment. The boy is anyway."

"What are you talking about?" Sara growled.

"Why don't you go to the giant waterfall not too far from here," the guy suggested. "You might see him if you look from the bottom. But we're busy so keep out of our way!" he held up some sort of gun to Riolu. He pulled the trigger and Riolu was covered in a net. The guy went to grab it but Sara shouldered him aside. "You're not getting the chance to hurt Riolu!" she growled.

"Why do you care!?" he growled, getting back up. "That Riolu belongs to Team Aqua now."

"I don't think so," Sara growled. "Riolu doesn't seem to want to go with you." She looked over her shoulder at the struggling Riolu, trying to get out of the net. "You're not getting this Riolu. Now tell us what you've done with Ash and Skye!"

"I already told you," he said. "Go to the bottom of the waterfall and look up. Now step aside."

"NO!" Sara growled and took the net off Riolu. "Riolu, come with us."

Riolu looked up at her.

"Mightyena, use Bite!" the guy threw a Pokeball and a Mightyena came at Sara and Riolu.

Sara shut her eyes tight, letting out a yelp. Riolu put its arms up and a small blue sphere appeared between its palms. It shot out at Mightyena and the bigger Pokemon fell back.

Sara opened her eyes again. "Riolu... you saved me?"

Riolu nodded, making a little happy sound. Riolu didn't say its name like some Pokemon.

Mightyena came back at them and Sara hugged Riolu, putting herself between the two of them. "Glaceon use Ice Beam!" she cried out.

Glaceon ran over and shot out an Ice Beam, getting Mightyena directly and freezing it.

Gary ran over to Sara. "We have to go!"

Sara nodded. "Riolu, let's go." Riolu nodded to her and they all ran off through the forest.

They ran and ran, Sara carried Riolu in her arms. They stopped when they thought they were safe and Sara pulled out some Potion from her bag, putting Riolu on the ground.

"This will hurt a little," she told it. "But it will heal your injuries."

Riolu nodded and Sara sprayed it onto its injuries. Riolu flinched but didn't do anything. When Sara was done, she patted Riolu on the head with a smile.

"Now we have to find Ash and Skye," Summer murmured.

Sara nodded. "That guy said a waterfall...."

"And that Ash was tied up..." Gary added.

Sara's eyes widened. "They're gonna throw him off the waterfall!!!!!"

Gary growled. "Let's go!"

They all set off again and tried to find the waterfall.

"Do you hear that?" Summer murmured.

Sara listened. "It sounds like a waterfall."

They climbed down some rocks and kept running, but when they rounded a corner where they thought they would find Ash, they found a waterfall, but not the right one.

"You're kidding!?" Sara growled, looking at all the different waterfalls. "Where's Ash!?"

"We just need to keep looking," Gary said.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"LET ME DOWN FROM HERE!!!!!"

I looked down at Ash, wishing I could get him back up. He was tied up and dangling over the giant waterfall with the massively deep lake at the bottom. The rope was tied to a rock and a Team Aqua Crawdaunt was prepared to cut the rope with its claws.

"What will your answer be, Skye?" I turned and looked at Archie. "Let me remind you: If you refuse, the boy falls to his death. If you agree, then we will bring him back up. And as for your Pikachu's.... they'll be Pokemon food for Crawdaunt over there."

I looked at the Crawdaunt at the rope.

_No_, I thought. _I don't want to! But if I don't.... Ash will die... and so will Pikachu and Sparky............ I couldn't bare it_!

"Skye, don't do it!" Ash yelled up at me.

"But, Ash!" I yelled back. "You-"

"Don't worry about me!" Ash growled. "You can't join Team Aqua!"

"I don't want you to die!" I yelled. "Or Pikachu and Sparky!" the two Pokemon were in a tiny cage, Pikachu was growling, protecting Sparky as best it could.

"Pika, Pi!" Sparky called and shook its head.

Tears were in my eyes at that moment. "No. I can't let you all die!"

"So, what'll it be?" Archie smiled. He was with a whole group of Team Aqua people, two including Shaun and Nick.

Tears ran down my face. "Please! I'll do anything! Just don't hurt them!"

"Does that mean you'll join us?" Archie asked.

I sighed. Thoughts were racing through my mind, one idea was dangerous, so I instantly forgot about it. I had no other choice.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Look up there!" Sara said.

Everyone looked up. "It's Ash!" Gary exclaimed.

They were standing at the bottom of the right waterfall, looking up at Ash hanging over the edge all tied up so he couldn't escape.

"We have to get up there and help him," Sara said and they all started climbing up the side of the waterfall. "We can't let him fall."

"What if he falls and we don't get to him in time!?" Summer suggested.

"We will," Sara sounded so determined. "We have to."

Summer blinked at Sara.

"She's right," Gary said as they continued climbing. "We can't let him fall to his death, no matter what!"

Summer looked at him as he helped Sara up a little bit, Riolu on Sara's back. Summer looked up to where Ash was. _Please, Ash_, she thought. _Don't fall_!

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"What's your answer!?" Archie growled.

_I have no other choice_, tears still ran down my face and I held a Pokeball in my hands. My tears dripped onto the Pokeball. "I won't join you," I replied.

Archie laughed. "You're going to let your friends die?"

I shook my head. "I won't join Team Aqua no matter what!" My tears pretty much drenched the Pokeball and it seeped through the cracks in the middle and into the Pokeball. "But I won't stand by and watch you kill them!"

"Too bad," Archie said. "Crawdaunt, drop the boy."

Crawdaunt nodded and snapped the rope. Ash yelled as he fell towards the bottom.

I was suddenly in doubt, picturing the snapping jaws coming up to Ash. I shook my head and my tears scattered everywhere. "ASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed and threw the Pokeball over the edge of the waterfall. It opened and the red beam shot down the waterfall, then the Pokeball returned to me.

_I have to let my Pokemon save him, as much as I dread the worst_, I thought. _Now I have to save Pikachu and Sparky_!

"Dinner time, Crawdaunt!" Archie smiled and Nick and Shaun grabbed me, stopping me from doing anything. Archie looked at me. "I don't know what you did just now, but your efforts are in vain. Your friends will die."

"NO!" I yelled. "Don't! Please, don't hurt them!"

"You give me no choice!" Archie smiled and threw the cage at Crawdaunt.

Crawdaunt slammed its claw onto the cage and it smashed open. Its claws opened and shut as it looked down at Pikachu and Sparky.

I shut my eyes tightly. "NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed.

I heard a loud roar and the Team Aqua people yelling in fear. My eyes snapped open and I looked up at the giant blue Pokemon. "G-G-Gyarados!?" I exclaimed.

Gyarados looked at me, its eyes shining with an emotion I recognized but couldn't quite pinpoint at the time. I nodded. "Thank you," I smiled when I saw Ash on its head, holding on tight to the fin on its head.

"Get that Pokemon!" Archie ordered Crawdaunt.

Crawdaunt left Pikachu and Sparky and shot a Water Pulse at Gyarados.

"Gyarados, use Hyper Beam!" I called.

Gyarados opened its mouth and a golden sphere formed, then a golden beam shot down at the attack and there was an explosion.

"It....." I blinked. "Gyarados listened to me....."

"Retreat!" Archie yelled and returned Crawdaunt. "Bring Skye with us!"

Nick and Shaun began dragging me towards their ship.

"Gyarados, use Dragon Rage!" I yelled. I waited and waited, but there was no attack. "Skye, duck!" Ash called. I ducked down quickly, not sure what was happening. Suddenly, Nick and Shaun were knocked aside by the swipe of a big blue tail. I looked up at Gyarados, growling fiercely at the Team Aqua people.

_It didn't want to hurt me_, I thought at last and I ran back to stand beside Gyarados. My Pokemon leaned down and Ash got off its head, rushing over to Pikachu and Sparky to check on them. I looked into Gyarados's eyes and nodded, jumping up on its head. Gyarados got up straight again and glared down at Team Aqua retreating to their ship.

"Gyarados, use Dragon Rage!" I commanded. "Don't let them get away!"

Gyarados opened its mouth and a huge flame flew down at the ship, making it explode.

Archie and the other Team Aqua people turned around to look up at me, smiling down at them. "Hyper Beam."

Gyarados opened its mouth again and a golden beam shot down at them. They scattered everywhere and the beam slammed into the ground, making earth fly up everywhere.

"That'll do," I murmured. "Thank you, Gyarados." I pulled out its Pokeball and returned it. I landed on the ground in a crouch. I put the Pokeball away and pulled out another two Pokeballs. I threw them into the air. "Absol, Mightyena, let's go!"

"Mightyena?" Ash echoed, watching as my two Pokemon appeared.

"Archie, I will never join Team Aqua!" I yelled. "And if I have to prove it, I will. Absol, use Razor Wind! Mightyena, use Shadow Ball!"

The two Pokemon fired their attacks, making more explosions. Some Team Aqua people pulled out bazookas and aimed them at us.

"Watch out!" Ash called, running to my side with Pikachu and Sparky.

"Absol, use Perish Song to get rid of those things," I growled.

Absol nodded and stepped forward, opening its mouth and letting out its ear-splitting cry. The vibrations flew forward at the people with the bazookas and their weapons exploded.

"Sparky, let's finish this up," I murmured.

"Pikachu, you too," Ash said and I looked at him, smiling. He smiled back.

We both looked at Archie and Team Aqua. "USE BOLT TACKLE!" we yelled.

Pikachu and Sparky nodded and ran towards them, electricity flowing all around them. "Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika!!!!!!!!!!" they said as they ran, anger burning in their eyes. They crashed into them. "Pika-A!"

There was a massive explosion and Team Aqua was thrown into the air, disappearing.

Ash sighed. "That was scary."

"I'm sorry, Ash," I murmured. "I took my chances with Gyarados. You could have gotten really hurt."

I would have been killed if it wasn't for Gyarados," Ash smiled and hugged me, holding me close to him with one hand on my head, his fingers twining in my red/black hair. "Thanks for saving my life."

"I couldn't just let you die," I whispered. I had to do something." I suddenly knew why Gyarados listened to me. I remembered when I had been crying on its Pokeball and the tears found their way inside it. It must have gotten to Gyarados and it decided to listen to me.

"Ash! Skye!"

Ash and I broke apart and turned to look at Sara and the others climbing up over the edge of the waterfall. Sara saw Mightyena and growled. "Glaceon, scare that bad Pokemon away with Ice Beam!"

Glaceon prepared to attack, but I ran in front of Mightyena. "Stop! Mightyena isn't a bad Pokemon! Mightyena is mine!"

"What?" Sara murmured. "Mightyena is...... How?"

I smiled. "Say hello to the evolved Poochyena," I said simply and hugged Mightyena.

"It evolved," Sara smiled. "Good work. And what was that Gyarados doing?"

"We didn't make it in time to try and catch Ash," Gary sighed.

"I sent Gyarados to catch him," I said. "Gyarados listens to me now."

"Cool!" Sara smiled and I caught sight of a Pokemon.

"What Pokemon is that?" I asked.

"This is Riolu," Sara smiled and picked it up. "It was hurt and Team Aqua wanted to capture it. I saved it."

Riolu smiled and made a happy sound. I smiled. "It's cute."

"Give us back that Riolu!" we spun around and looked at another group of Team Aqua guys.

Sara growled. "Never!"

"Hand it over, kid," one of the guys growled. "If you do, we won't have to hurt you."

"NO!" Sara growled and put Riolu on the ground, grabbing a Pokeball. "I'll battle you to protect Riolu!"

Sara was determined, and we were all ready to help her if she needed it.

"Go! Buneary!" Sara called and her Buneary came out.


	17. The Voice of Truth and Absol's Warning

The Team Aqua guy threw a Pokeball. "Go, Crawdaunt!"

A Crawdaunt stood in front of Buneary, but the smaller Pokemon was unafraid.

"Buneary, use Dizzy Punch!" Sara called.

"Crawdaunt, use Crabhammer!" the guy called.

Buneary jumped up at Crawdaunt with white shining ears, but Crawdaunt hit Buneary with its huge claw.

Buneary fell back.

"Buneary!" Sara exclaimed and ran over to her Pokemon, holding it in her arms as she crouched on the ground.

"Now, use Vicegrip," the Team Aqua guy said.

Sara looked up and saw Crawdaunt preparing for the attack. She closed her eyes and hugged Buneary tighter.

I saw Riolu jump in front of Sara and Buneary, holding its hand close to it and a small blue sphere forming between its hands. It threw its arms out and the sphere hit Crawdaunt before it could attack. Crawdaunt fell back and Sara looked up, opening her eyes.

"Riolu?" she murmured. Riolu looked over its shoulder at her and made its happy sound. "You're going to help me?" Riolu nodded. Sara smiled. "Okay then. Riolu, use Aura Sphere!"

Riolu let loose the same attack it used before.

"I've never heard of a Riolu before..." I muttered.

"Apparently they're only found in the Sinnoh Region," Ash murmured to me. "I wonder how this Riolu got to Hoenn."

"Someone could have caught it and released it," Gary suggested.

I glanced at Brawly. He looked at me and looked away instantly. I sighed and my hand reached up to the necklace he had given me. I held it for a bit, watching the battle between Riolu and Crawdaunt.

Riolu was getting tired and Sara told it to stop. Crawdaunt was through anyway.

"Crawdaunt, return!" the Team Aqua guy said and put the Pokeball away, taking out another one. "Go, Cacturne!"

I watched as a big green cactus-looking Pokemon appeared. It looked scary.

Sara growled and grabbed a Pokeball, but I stepped forward, holding up my own Pokeball. "Sara, I'll deal with him."

Sara looked at me. "Why!?"

"Riolu is tired," I murmured and she looked at it. "You need to take care of it, and Buneary."

Sara sighed. "Okay. Go ahead." She grabbed Riolu and Buneary and stood up, standing back.

"Alright, Absol," I murmured and threw the Pokeball. "It's up to you!"

Absol appeared and stretched. "Ab!" it said.

"Ha!" the guy laughed. "While I'm snatching that Riolu, I'll bring you to Archie as well."

"Take your best shot!" I smirked. "Absol, use Razor Wind!"

"Ab!" it swung its head and a white blade shot from the blade on its head. It flew at Cacturne.

"Cacturne, dodge it and use Needle Arm!"

Cacturne dodged the attack and came at Absol with a shining white hand.

"Absol, Double Team!" I called.

Clones of Absol appeared and Cacturne stopped, looking at all the Absol's around it.

"Now, use Slash!"

There was only one Absol, the others disappeared. Absol stood behind Cacturne and jumped at it, slicing its claws at it.

Cacturne fell forward and Absol pinned it down on its stomach.

"Perish Song!" I commanded.

"She's really skilled with her Pokemon," Summer murmured.

"Yeah," Sara smiled. "She started off at Littleroot Town a few months ago I think. She's a quick thinker."

"And where did she get an Absol?" Summer asked.

"It joined her after it helped us escape the Granite Cave in Dewford Town," Ash replied.

"It chose to go with her," Sara smiled again.

Absol opened its mouth and let out a high-pitched, ear-splitting cry. The vibrations fell towards Cacturne and the ground. As it hit the ground, there were dents in it from the pressure. Cacturne was hit over and over again, but couldn't do anything to stop it.

"Now use Bite!" I called.

Absol stopped and leaned down, biting Cacturne on the shoulder. Absol jumped back and Cacturne got back up.

"Leech Seed!" the Team Aqua guy called.

Cacturne hurled something at Absol and my Pokemon was trapped in vines.

"Oh no!" Sara exclaimed. "Leech Seed drains all the Pokemon's energy! Skye's in trouble!"

I watched as Absol was shocked by the green light coming off the vines, its energy was being drained and Cacturne was looking a lot stronger.

I growled, I wasn't able to watch it anymore! I held up Absol's Pokeball. "Absol, return!"

Absol returned into its Pokeball, but it came back out. "Absol, I want you to stop battling!" I said. "You're exhausted!"

Absol looked at me, but finally nodded. I grabbed another Pokeball as Absol lied down beside me. I threw it. "Torchic, let's go!"

Torchic appeared with a smile on its face. "Tor, chic, chic!" it said.

_Fire Types are stronger than Grass Types_, I thought. _But I have to remember that this is also a Dark Type..... This could be tricky_.

"Cacturne, use Needle Arm."

Cacturne came at Torchic, extremely fast, and hit it with a shining white hand. "Torchic!" I exclaimed.

"Keep using Needle Arm," the guy smiled.

Cacturne hit Torchic over and over again.

"Torchic!" Torchic called.

I was starting to panic, but I couldn't return it, that wouldn't be fair on Torchic. "Torchic! Use Flamethrower!" I yelled.

Torchic looked up at Cacturne and opened its mouth, letting out a flamethrower. It hit Cacturne directly and it stumbled back, badly injured from the attack. Torchic got up, ready to keep fighting.

"Cacturne, use Pin Missile!" the guy smiled.

Cacturne held its arms out.

"Mirror Move!" I called, holding my arm out to point at Cacturne.

Torchic opened its mouth and at the same time, they shot white needles at each other. It caused a massive explosion but both Pokemon were still standing.

"Fire Spin, let's go!" I called.

Torchic opened its mouth again and let out another flame. It spiraled in circles as it came at Cacturne.

"Cacturne, dodge it!" the guy called but it was too late; Cacturne was hit before he even finished his sentence. He growled. "Alright. Cacturne, use Revenge!"

"Revenge?!" I exclaimed. "What does that do!?"

"Skye, look out!" Sara called and I looked over my shoulder at her. "Revenge is a move that allows the Pokemon to give back all the damage it was caused, times two!"

"That's gonna be trouble," I murmured and turned back. I saw a black and purple light around Cacturne and its eyes shined. It held its arms out, a big black sphere forming between its hands.

_Torchic took damage too_, I quickly thought. _So if it tried Mirror Move, it might work_.

"Torchic, use Mirror Move!" I called.

Torchic opened its mouth, a black sphere forming in front of it. Both attacks were thrown at each other and it looked like black flamethrowers. They collided half way and they kept at it, that was when I realized Cacturne's attack would be stronger because it took more damage than Torchic did.

Torchic tried keeping the attack back, but because it was so much stronger, Torchic had to stop and Cacturne's attack flew toward Torchic, hitting it directly.

"Torchic!" I yelled.

"Cacturne is stronger than Crawdaunt was," Sara murmured.

Torchic tried getting up as Cacturne came at it again.

"Torchic, you have to get up!" I called.

Torchic got to its feet but it was thrown back as Cacturne slammed into it. Torchic fell back again.

"Torchic!" I yelled.

Torchic suddenly growled and got back to its feet, glaring at Cacturne. Then Torchic began shining white.

My eyes widened as I saw Torchic getting bigger and changing shape.

"Torchic is..... evolving?" Gary murmured.

I smiled as Torchic no longer shined white, and there stood not a Torchic, but a Combusken.

"Pika, Pi!" Sparky smiled, jumping up to my shoulder.

"Combusken!" Combusken looked back at us. I smiled and nodded.

"Alright, Combusken. Let's wrap this up," I smirked. "Use Double Kick!"

Combusken jumped up at Cacturne and started kicking it over and over again.

"Cacturne, use Needle Arm!" the guy called.

Cacturne stopped trying to block the kicks thrown at it and threw a shining white arm up at Combusken.

"Dodge it!" I called.

Combusken neatly avoided the attack by doing a backflip and landing on the ground a few metres away.

"Now use Flamethrower!" I ordered.

Combusken opened its mouth, looking at Cacturne and let out a huge Flamethrower, it looked so much more powerful than it had been when Combusken was a Torchic. Cacturne was hit directly and it fell back.

"Cacturne, get up!" the guy growled. "Hurry up, now!"

Cacturne struggled to its feet.

"Okay, use Revenge again!"

I growled. "Combusken, get ready!"

"Combusken!" it replied with a tiny nod, preparing to move.

Cacturne held its hands up, but nothing happened. It tried so hard, I could see it clearly.

"Cacturne, hurry up!" the guy growled.

I sighed and held up Combusken's Pokeball. "Combusken, return."

"Huh?" Sara murmured. "Skye? What are you doing?"

I walked over to Cacturne and the Team Aqua trainer. "Skye!" Ash called out.

"Don't worry," I murmured and noticed that Absol came with me.

The Team Aqua guy looked up at me. "What-"

"Your Pokemon cannot continue fighting," I told him, stopping in front of Cacturne, inspecting the injuries. "It's still standing because you told it to. It can't go on in this condition."

The guy growled. "How would you know!?"

"I can see it," I murmured, looking up into Cacturne's eyes. "Return your Pokemon."

"You can't tell me what to do!" he growled. "Cacturne, use Needle Arm!"

Sparky growled and sparks flew around its cheeks, but Cacturne made no move.

"Cacturne!" the guy growled. "Are you deaf!? I said use Needle Arm!"

Still, Cacturne didn't move. The guy returned his Pokemon and stormed over to me, grabbing me by the shirt, Ash and the others got ready to come over and help me. "Listen here, kid!" he snarled. "I don't like you one bit, but because Archie wants you, I guess I can't hurt you. So you're coming with me, right now."

"No," I snarled back at him, my face inches from his, my eyes glittering. "If you want to awaken Kyogre and use it to destroy the world, I warn you: I will not let you. If you insist on trying, I will stand in your way." He blinked at me. "I will wait to see what your motives are, and if I have to, I will protect the whole world against Team Aqua. I won't let you destroy this world, I will fight to protect it, no matter what the cost. So you'd better go back to Archie and give him that message. So be careful the next time we cross paths."

The guy still blinked at me, obviously scared and mystified. I was just as shocked. _Did I just say that_? I thought. _That was........ abnormal. Something I would never usually say._

"Ursaring, use Hyper Beam!"

I grabbed the guy's hands and pulled them off my shirt before Absol and I jumped back, Sparky still on my shoulder. The guy fell back and just managed to avoid a huge golden beam that shot into the ground and disappeared. A moment later, I looked up to see a familiar face.

"Paul!" Sara exclaimed.

"Paul?" Brawly echoed.

I stood up properly and looked at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Passing by," Paul replied, blinking at me. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing," I murmured. "Just a few problems with Team Aqua again."

Paul sighed. "Are you okay now though?"

I nodded. "Never been better," I put some sarcasm into it though.

"Absol, Ab!" I turned around to look at Absol. Strangely, it was pacing around in circles, looking up at the sun.

"Absol?" I asked.

"Absol! Ab, ab! Absol!" it said, to itself I guessed, and then it sat down and howled to the sky.

"What's wrong with Absol?" Gary asked me.

I shrugged. "I have no idea. Absol has never been like this....."

A black/purple air started flowing around Absol as it continued howling a chime-sounding howl.

"Could it be evolving?" Ash suggested.

"No, Absol doesn't have an evolution," Sara rolled her eyes. "This has to be something different."

Paul pulled out his Pokedex. "Absol," it said. "The Disaster Pokemon....."

I didn't bother to listen to the rest, I was so caught up in the first part it had said. _Disaster Pokemon_, I thought. _Was it something I said that triggered this? Could Absol be predicting a disaster_? Something in my mind sparked. _I said to the Team Aqua guy_, I looked at him, _that I would fight to protect the world, no matter what the cost... Could it really be true.....? What if... the prophecy.... really is about me..._? I shook my head roughly. _No! Don't be an idiot! I am not the 'Chosen One'! Don't let anything make you think otherwise because it's not true_! I managed to convince myself again that I was not the Chosen One in the prophecy. I sighed with relief.

"Absol, calm down," I murmured and held out its Pokeball. "Return now. Take a long rest."

Absol looked at me, its eyes shining with something unknown to me, before it returned into its Pokeball.

"That was so strange," Ash muttered.

"Pika, Pi," Pikachu agreed.

"Thanks for coming," I turned to Paul. "You were a great help."

"Ha, all he did was order a Hyper Beam that could have hurt her," Brawly muttered under his breath, his arms crossed and his eyes looking at something far away.

I looked up at Ursaring, it looked back down at me with a smile on its face. "Thank you as well, Ursaring."

Ursaring nodded but then looked at the Team Aqua guy, growling.

"I think it would be best if you left," Paul told him. He nodded and ran off, scared.

I sighed and turned back to my friends. "We should keep going. Lavaridge Town is closer than Fallabor so we should go to Lavaridge first. Agreed?"

"Yep," Ash, Gary and Sara smiled, Brawly shrugged.

"I have no business in Lavaridge Town," Summer murmured. "So I'll leave you guys and head over to Fallabor Town to wait for the next Contest."

"Alright," Gary said. "We'll see you there then."

Summer nodded and waved. "Bye guys."

"Bye," Ash murmured, I smiled my good bye, Sara nodded, Brawly did nothing and Paul just blinked.

Summer turned and walked off towards Fallabor Town.

I turned to Paul. "So, Paul, are you heading for Lavaridge Town, too?"

Paul nodded. "You're not the only one who has to challenge Flannery."

I smiled. "Then why not come with us?"

Sara sighed but said nothing. Ash and Gary didn't seem to mind, Brawly said nothing.

Paul shrugged. "Sure."

I smiled. "Cool!" I looked up at Ursaring again. "You're not the biggest Pokemon anymore."

Ursaring tilted its head.

"What do you mean?" Paul asked.

"Skye caught a Gyarados," Sara swung her arm over my shoulders and hung off of my neck.

"Really?" Paul murmured. "Can you control it yet?"

I nodded. "It saved Ash's life for me. Wanna see it?"

"Sure."

I pulled out Gyarados's Pokeball and Sara stepped back. I threw the Pokeball in the air. "Gyarados, come on out!" I said and Gyarados appeared, roaring loudly with a smile on its face.

"It's huge," Paul commented. "And it looks strong and healthy. How long have you had it?"

"Two or three days," I smiled, looking up at my Pokemon. "And with Gyarados's help, we'll beat Flannery and earn ourselves the Heat Badge."

"Hey, Brawly, you know Flannery, eh?" Gary asked. Brawly nodded and I turned to look at him, so did everyone else. "Do you know her special ability?"

"I don't follow you," Brawly muttered.

"Like, what techniques does she use?" Gary asked. "Anything that could help Skye, Ash and Paul?"

Brawly flashed a glance at all three of us and looked at the ground. "I can't tell you that."

"Why not?" Ash asked.

"It's out of respect, I'm a Gym leader too."

"Or _**was**_," Sara corrected him but she shrugged. "Oh well. They don't need your help anyway. Skye has Gyarados and Buizel to help her, Ash has Totodile and Paul..... I don't think he has a Water Type Pokemon....?"

"No, I don't," Paul murmured. "And I don't need one."

Sara shrugged again. "Oh well. We should get going anyway."

Riolu made a tiny noise and Sara looked down at it. "Huh? What's wrong Riolu?" It made another noise, tugging at her pants with a smile on its face. Sara smiled. "I get it. You want to come with me, don't you?" Riolu nodded.

"That's a cute Pokemon," Gary smiled.

Sara smiled as well, holding up a Pokeball. "Well then, let's go, Riolu."

Riolu smiled and touched the button before being sucked into the ball. It wobbled for a little bit, but then stopped. Riolu was Sara's.

"Awesome," Ash grinned. "Another Pokemon for you."

Sara giggled a childish laugh. "Oh yeah, Glaceon, return," she held out its Pokeball and returned Glaceon.

"Gyarados, return," I smiled and Gyarados went back into its Pokeball. "Let's be off, shall we."

We headed towards Lavaridge Town, I had a smile on my face as I pictured Flannery giving me the Heat Badge. Only the problem was, I had no idea what Flannery looked like, or the badge, so they were just what I imagined them to look like.

"Corphish, phish!"

"What was that?" Sara muttered.

"No idea," I tilted my head. "Let's go find out."

We headed through some trees to find out what the noise was. It was getting louder and louder.

"Corphish, phish! Cor, Corphish!"

"Pika, Pi," Sparky was scared.

"It's okay, Sparky," I smiled and patted my Pokemon on the head. "It's nothing to be scared off."

We continued walking through the trees and found a red Pokemon struggling in a net.

"It's a Corphish," I murmured.

"A what?" Sara asked.

"I'll explain later, it needs help now," I said and we walked over to the struggling Pokemon to pull the net off it. It shook itself, stepping away from us. I held up my Pokedex.

"Corphish," it said. "The Ruffian Pokemon. These sharp-clawed Pokemon started off as pets, but eventually found their way into the wild and became real survivors. They can live in dirty waters and they will eat just about anything. Its evolved form is Crawdaunt."

"I wondered why it looked so familiar," Ash muttered.

"It seems scared of us," Gary said.

"Yeah" I sighed. "It's okay, Corphish, we were just helping you."

"Corphish, Cor!" it growled, stepping away again.

"Back away from that Corphish!" came a voice.

"Oh-no!" Sara muttered. "It's not-"

"Is that a voice I hear?" Jessie said.

"It's speaking to me loud and clear," James added.

"On the wind!"

"Past the stars!"

"In your ear!" Meowth pitched in.

"A rose by any other name is just as-"

"Retarded?" I sighed. "Yeah, we know. Can you shut up now?"

"How dare you interrupt our motto!" Jessie growled.

"We can if we want to!" Sara smirked.

"Corphish, it was those twerps that trapped you in the net!" Meowth said. "Be careful, you can't trust them!"

"Corphish?" it said.

"Yes. They were only helping you to try and trick you!" Meowth looked at us. "Come with us, you'll be safer."

"You're the ones who want to catch it!" Ash growled.

"Look, if they want it, let em have it," Brawly sighed. "At least they'd be catching their own Pokemon this time."

"No!" I growled, turning on him. "All they want is to give Pokemon to their boss! I won't let them do that to Corphish!"

"Because you want to catch it for yourself," James smiled.

"No," I turned back around, ignoring Brawly's growl. "I want to keep Corphish safe from you!"

Corphish was looking from one to the other, not sure which to choose.

"Corphish, we just want to help you," I murmured. "Team Rocket is the bad guys. They're the ones that trapped you in that net, not us."

"Don't listen to the twerp!" Meowth growled. "She's trying to trick you!"

Corphish opened its claws and bubbles shot out at me. They hit me and I fell back.

"Skye, are you alright!?" Ash exclaimed, crouching beside me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I sighed and sat up. "That was one strong Bubblebeam."

"Yeah."

"Corphish!"

I looked up and saw Corphish in a cage, hanging from the air balloon basket. Team Rocket were laughing.

"Silly Corphish!" Meowth laughed. "We're the bad guys around here!"

"Corphish, phish! Cor!" Corphish trying getting free, but failed.

I jumped to my feet. "Give Corphish back!"

"I don't think so," Jessie poked her tongue out at me. "There's nothing you can do about it."

"Oh yeah!?" I growled and pulled out a Pokeball. I threw it. "Gyarados, I choose you!"

"A _**WHAT**_!?" Team Rocket exclaimed as Gyarados appeared.

"Give Corphish back or else," I threatened.

"Or else what?" James asked.

"Or else Gyarados here will send you blasting off," I smirked.

"And Corphish will come with us," Meowth smiled.

I nodded. "I know. That's why you're so stupid."

"Huh?"

"Taillow, use Wing Attack!" Ash called.

I saw Ash's Taillow flying towards the cage, its left wing shining white.

"What!? How!?" Jessie asked, panicked.

"When I sent out Gyarados, you didn't notice that Ash sent out his Taillow into the woods," I smiled smugly.

"See? That's why we call you twerps, twerps!" Meowth growled.

Taillow's wing cut through the rope holding the cage. Corphish fell towards the ground, still in the cage.

"Machop, grab it!" Brawly threw a Pokeball and his Machop appeared. It grabbed the cage before it could crash into the ground. Machop put the cage down and let Corphish out.

"Gyarados!" I called. "Use Hyper Beam!"

Team Rocket panicked as a golden sphere formed in front of Gyarados's mouth.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

Sara threw a Pokeball. "Riolu, use Aura Sphere!"

Gary threw a Pokeball too. "Growlithe, use Flamethrower!"

"Sparky, Thunder!" I called.

Team Rocket panicked even more as the Pokemon prepared to attack. Corphish joined the line of attacking Pokemon and opened its claws.

Gyarados let out its golden Hyper Beam. Pikachu's Thunderbolt flew from its body. Riolu threw its hands out and a big blue sphere shot up. Growlithe let out a huge Flamethrower. Sparky used one of its strongest attacks, lightning following the rest. Corphish let out a strong Bubblebeam.

All six attacks flew up at Team Rocket's balloon and there was a huge explosion. Team Rocket were thrown up into the air.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they called and disappeared.

I breathed in relief and Ash walked over to Corphish. "That was a great attack. You're pretty brave."

"Corphish, Cor!" it smiled.

I smiled. "Ash, why don't you catch it? It obviously trusts you."

Ash looked at Corphish. "What do ya say?"

"Corphish!" it nodded and Ash held out a Pokeball, Corphish went inside and the ball shook for a little bit before remaining still. Ash had a new Pokemon.

"We should keep going," Gary murmured and we all agreed.

We returned our Pokemon and traveled a bit further, but it was getting dark so we decided to stop and rest for the night.

Sparky slept beside my head and I smiled before going into a deep sleep.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

I blinked open my eyes at the sound of crashing and I felt a fierce wind in my face, as well as the pelting rain. I looked all around me, I was standing on a small platform of earth, and all around me was endless sea. The rain came down even harder and I was confused. How did I get here? And, where _was_ here?

Suddenly, a huge blue Pokemon with wing-like arms rose from the sea, bringing a great big tidal wave with it. It went straight passed me and I turned to see where it was headed. I was shocked to see a huge red Pokemon standing on its back legs and a big tail to support it. It made land and it rose up to block the tidal wave, then the earth came down and simply floated on the raging water.

The blue Pokemon swam across to the red one and they hit each other, starting to fight.

It was like nothing I had ever seen before, Pokemon never fought so fiercely as if it was to the death.

"STOP!" I screamed.

The blue one fell back and I locked eyes with it. I saw the anger, I _felt_ it burning within my own body. It was then that I realized that this _**was**_ a fight to the death, they wouldn't stop fighting until one or both were dead.

Suddenly, the blue Pokemon summoned a massive tidal wave that was 200 feet tall. It came crashing down, and I would get caught in it!

I watched the water coming down at me and I wasn't able to try and run.

Right before the water hit me, I was shaken awake and I sat up quickly, making Sara fall backwards with shock.

"Whoa, Skye are you alright?" Ash asked.

I was breathing quickly, my breaths were extremely shallow and I was almost gasping. I looked around at everybody. It was just getting light as the sun began to rise up, I wasn't where I was before. _It was just a dream_, I told myself. _Just a dream_. I managed to nod.

"Wow, you look really startled," Sara said, sitting up and blinking at me.

"Just a nightmare," I shook my head. "I'm okay."

"Nightmare about what?" Gary asked.

"It's nothing, really," I tried to smile. I had no idea what it was about, I didn't even know what Pokemon they were.

"Are you sure?" Ash asked.

I nodded. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it. It happens to everybody, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Ash sighed. "Anyway, we're getting ready to leave now. Lavaridge Town can't be too far away."

I nodded and got up, packing up all my stuff. Sparky jumped up on my shoulder and nuzzled my face. "Pika, Pi," it smiled.

I smiled back. "Hello to you too, Sparky."

When we were ready, we set off towards Lavaridge Town again. In no time, we had found it. It was a pretty big place, and we stopped at the Pokemon Center, giving our Pokemon to Nurse Joy to take care of while we waited in the waiting room.

"So, who's battling Flannery first?" Ash asked me. "Because you can if you'd like."

I looked at him. "You know, you always offer me the chance to go first... why?"

Ash looked at the ground "Um... I don't know."

Then it clicked in my mind and I smiled smugly. "This is all because of the first time you went to challenge a Gym and didn't tell me, isn't it? All because you challenged Roxanne and didn't tell me about it. After I got mad at you, you felt bad. Is this what it's all about?"

Ash was silent for a few minutes, buying time. "Maybe...."

I laughed. "You don't have to make it up to me, ya know," I smiled. "You can go first this time."

"Are you sure?" he asked and I nodded.

"Quite sure," I smirked. "That way I can learn Flannery's fighting style by watching your battle."

"You're a sneak, you know that?" Ash smirked.

"Yep. Oh, and Paul, you can go next if you'd like."

"No, it's fine. You can go before me," Paul murmured. I smiled my thanks.

In a few more minutes, we got our Pokemon back. As we were leaving I noticed something up on the wall and I walked over to it, looking up at it.

"Skye?" Sara murmured as the others joined me.

I blinked at the poster, looking at the two Pokemon displayed on it beside the text. I read the first line and growled, looking away. It was the stupid prophecy about Kyogre and Groudon and the 'Chosen One'.

"Come on, let's go to the Gym," I sighed and led everybody out, heading for the Gym.

We reached the Gym but there was a note on the door that said the Gym was closed.

"You're kidding?" Ash sighed. "Looks like Flannery is out for the day."

I shrugged. "We can always go train for a bit. We haven't done that for a while."

Ash smiled and nodded. "Alright." We turned and headed out of Lavaridge Town and we found a large field. Paul insisted he didn't need to train.

"Brawly, do you know how many Pokemon Flannery has?" Ash asked. "We need to know so we can choose which Pokemon to battle her with."

"She has three," Brawly muttered and sat down with Sara, Paul and Gary.

"Can you tell us what three Pokemon?" Ash asked.

"Nope."

I snorted. "Forget him. We'll beat her either way."

Ash shrugged. "Alright," he held out a Pokeball and threw it. "Totodile, I choose you!"

I watched Totodile appear and start dancing around. I smiled and threw a Pokeball into the air. "Buizel, come on out!"

Buizel appeared and crossed its arms. "Bui, Bui!" it smiled.

"Can someone be referee?" I asked.

Sara jumped up. "I will!" She ran over and stood at the sidelines to watch. "Okay, battle begin!"

"Okay, Buizel use Sonicboom!" I called.

Buizel jumped into the air and spun. "Bui!" a white blade came down towards Totodile.

"Totodile! Water Gun!" Ash called.

Totodile opened its mouth and spat out water at Buizel's attack, diverting it. Sara had to jump out of the way to avoid it.

"Sorry!" Ash and I said at the same time.

Sara sighed. "You're not supposed to attack me!"

The three of us laughed and we got back to the battle.

"Buizel, Water Pulse!" I ordered.

Buizel put its hands together and a blue sphere formed between them. Buizel shot it forward and it hit the ground, making a huge tidal wave appear and come crashing down at Totodile. I flinched, picturing the 200 foot tidal wave from my nightmare.

"Totodile, dodge it!" Ash called but there was no chance. Totodile was hit by the attack and thrown backwards.

"Sonicboom, Buizel!" I smiled.

Buizel jumped into the air and spun around. "Bui!" it said and a white blade came crashing down towards Totodile.

"Totodile, Bite!" Ash called.

Totodile bit down on the blade and it vanished. I growled. "Buizel, use Aqua Jet!"

Buizel became surrounded by water and it jumped into the air to come down at Totodile.

"Totodile, dodge it!" Ash smirked and Totodile jumped neatly out of the way with a little spin.

"Buizel, Sonicboom!" I called and Ash's eyes widened, looking up at Buizel. It spun and a blade came down, hitting Totodile from behind. "Now use Water Pulse!"

Buizel shot the blue sphere at the ground and the tidal wave rose up, crashing down on Totodile.

"Totodile, jump into the air and use Bite!" Ash called.

Totodile jumped into the air and came down towards Buizel.

"Buizel, spin and use Water Gun!" I called.

Buizel spun on its back and used Water Gun. Water went everywhere like a thousand whips. Totodile was trapped in them and couldn't get out. It was thrown forwards and backwards by the water, Buizel just kept spinning.

Eventually, Buizel stopped spinning and Totodile fell to the ground.

Totodile was out.

"Totodile can no longer continue!" Sara said. "Buizel wins!"

"Good work, Buizel," I smiled and returned my Pokemon. "You deserve a rest."

"Totodile, return," Ash said and returned it. "Thanks. That was awesome."

"Next round!" Sara smiled.

Ash threw a Pokeball. "Phanpy, I choose you!"

"Gyarados!" I called and threw the Pokeball. "It's your turn!"

"Crap!" Ash muttered.

I smirked.

"Battle begin!" Sara called.

"Phanpy, use Rollout!" Ash called.

_Same trick as what Roxanne used in our Gym battle_, I thought. "Gyarados, Water Gun, on the ground!"

Brawly gasped as Gyarados sprayed the ground with water and Phanpy fell into the trap, unable to move anywhere. _Roxanne told me about this_! He thought, watching Phanpy sink deeper into the mud. _Skye used this on Roxanne's Donphan_!

Paul and Sara smiled, they remembered this as well.

"Gyarados, use Hyper Beam!" I called, pointing at Phanpy.

Gyarados opened its mouth and a tiny golden sphere appeared, gaining more and ore power quickly. Suddenly, it became a huge beam and it shot down towards Phanpy.

"Phanpy, use Dig!" Ash called.

"Shoot!" I growled and watched Phanpy use its nose to dig into the ground, making a large hole. The Hyper Beam missed.

"Phanpy, Double-Edge!" Ash called.

Phanpy made another hole and came up at Gyarados from behind.

"Gyarados, look out!" I called but it was too late. Gyarados was hit and sent flying into the ground.

"Phanpy, use Rollout!" Ash ordered.

"Hydro Pump, Gyarados!" I commanded.

Gyarados twisted its head to look at Phanpy and let out a huge blast of water, stopping Phanpy from coming any closer, but the smaller Pokemon continued to roll.

"Send it flying, Gyarados!" I smiled and Gyarados put more power into the attack and Phanpy was thrown into the air. "Now use Hyper Beam!"

Gyarados used Hyper Beam and Phanpy was hit directly. Phanpy was unable to continue battling.

"Phanpy cannot continue!" Sara called. "Gyarados wins!"

Ash returned Phanpy. "Good job, buddy." he looked up at me. "You're really strong."

I smiled. "This is fun," I returned Gyarados. "Great battle. Thanks."

"Last round," Sara said.

"Corphish, I choose you!" Ash threw a Pokeball and his new Corphish appeared.

"Sparky, you ready?" I asked, looking at the little yellow Pokemon that jumped up on my shoulder.

"Pika," Sparky nodded.

"Alright," I smirked and held my arm up to point at Corphish. "Go!"

Sparky ran across my arm and jumped into the make-shift battlefield.

Ash sighed and shook his head. "You're gonna win again."

"That's not good sportsmanship," I grumbled. "How do you think your Pokemon will feel if you said that every time?"

Ash smiled. "I guess you're right."

"Battle begin," Sara smiled and giggled to herself. "This is fun!"

"Corphish, use Bubblebeam!" Ash called.

Corphish opened its claws and bubbles shot out at Sparky.

"Thundershock!" I called.

"Pika-CHUUUU!!!!!" Sparky said and electricity flew out, making the bubbles pop.

Ash growled. "Corphish, use Vicegrip!"

My heart thumped once in panic but I relaxed when I figured it out quickly. "You can't do that unless you can catch Sparky."

"Pika, Pi!" Sparky smiled.

"Sparky, Agility!" I called and Sparky started running rings around Corphish.

"Catch Sparky, Corphish!" Ash commanded.

Corphish tried its best to try and catch Sparky in its claws, but it failed every time.

"Now, Sparky, use Thunderbolt!" I called.

Sparky stopped behind Corphish. "Pika-CHUUUUUU!!!!!!!!"

Electricity flew at Corphish and electrocuted it, but it wasn't out.

"That was a dirty trick," Ash smirked. "Corphish, Crabhammer!"

Corphish turned around and slammed one of its claws down on Sparky.

"Sparky!" I called, suddenly scared.

"Crabhammer, again!" Ash called.

Corphish slammed its claw back down on Sparky.

"Keep going!" Ash commanded.

I watched as Sparky was hit over and over again. I growled. "Sparky, use Thunder!" I yelled.

Sparky looked up at Corphish as it raised its claw for another attack. "Pika....."

Corphish hesitated.

"CCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sparky growled and Corphish was electrocuted with so much power. Sparky jumped up and faced its opponent, Corphish was nearly out. Corphish moved away from Sparky quickly.

"Okay, let's finish up," I smiled. "Bolt Tackle!"

Sparky also smiled and was about to go run at Corphish, but a giant pink hand grabbed its and picked it up off the ground and into the air. "PIKA!!!!!!" Sparky called.


	18. Flannery

"Sparky!" I yelled.

"Pikachu!" Ash called and I saw Pikachu get taken up as well. We all looked into the sky and saw a hot air balloon with Team Rocket in the basket.

I growled as Sparky and Pikachu were put in small glass domes and Meowth held onto them. They tried to get out with Thunderbolt attacks but it failed.

"Hahaha!" Team Rocket laughed. "Now both your Pokemon belong to us!"

"Give them back!" I growled.

"Is that a voice I hear?" Jessie smiled.

"It's speaking to me loud and clear," James added.

"On the wind-"

"Past the stars, blah, blah, blah!" Sara rolled her eyes. "Give back Sparky and Pikachu!"

"Not a chance!" Meowth laughed. "They're better off in our hands. Bye!"

We watched as Team Rocket left in their balloon.

"Let's go after them!" Ash said and threw a Pokeball. "Taillow, follow them!"

I watched as Taillow flew after them, but Team Rocket were already far ahead. We ran through the forest to find them, but we lost them.

"This is the second time!" I growled.

"Same for me," Ash sighed.

Sara grabbed a Pokeball and threw it. "Buneary, I choose you!"

Buneary came out. "Bun! Buneary!"

"Buneary, we need you to help us find Team Rocket," Sara said.

"Bun!" Buneary nodded, noticing the absence of Pikachu and Sparky.

I grabbed a Pokeball. "Mightyena, help out." Mightyena appeared and Buneary hid behind Sara.

"It's okay, Buneary," Sara murmured. "Mightyena won't hurt you. You remember Poochyena, right?"

"Bun," Buneary nodded.

"Well this is Poochyena. It evolved, that's all," I explained.

Buneary looked up at Mightyena. It was hard to believe, after all, Poochyena used to be half the size of a normal Poochyena and now it was a fully grown Mightyena.

Mightyena walked over to Buneary and sniffed it. "Might! Mightyena!"

Buneary suddenly smiled and jumped up on Mightyena's back. "Buneary! Bun! Bun!"

Gary nodded. "Growlithe, we'll need you as well."

Growlithe came out and looked up at everybody.

"Okay, guys," I sighed. "We need you to find Team Rocket, they have Pikachu and Sparky."

"Might!" Mightyena growled.

"They went in that direction," Ash pointed.

Mightyena and Growlithe nodded and they ran off, Buneary still riding on Mightyena's back. We followed a little more slowly.

"Pikachu! Sparky!" we called as we walked along the long path through the forest.

"Gligar!"

We looked up as we saw a purple Pokemon flying above us. Brawly threw a Pokeball up and it was pulled inside. The Pokeball fell to the ground and moved a couple of times before remaining still. Brawly had caught Gligar.

"That was fast," Sara commented and Brawly picked up the ball, throwing it into the air and making Gligar come out.

"Gligar, we need you to fly ahead and try to find a hot air balloon with two people and a Meowth. They have two of our Pokemon and we're trying to find them," Brawly said to his new Pokemon.

Gligar nodded and flew into the air, disappearing soon enough.

I was surprised that Brawly had done that. _But then again_, I thought, looking at him. _He had always liked Sparky. They were good friends. Just because he hates me doesn't mean he hates Sparky_.

We searched for a little longer, but then we heard barking and we looked up to see Mightyena, Buneary and Growlithe returning, running back to us. Gligar and Taillow flew back as well.

"What's wrong?" Sara asked.

"Bun! Buneary!" Buneary said, pointing in the direction they came from.

"Mightyena!" Mightyena pitched in.

"Growlithe!" Growlithe barked.

"Are they that way?" I asked and they all nodded. Gary returned Growlithe, Sara picked up Buneary and held it in her arms, Ash returned Taillow and Brawly returned Gligar.

"Mightyena, lead the way," I said and Mightyena turned around, running back, we all ran after it.

We ran for a while, but then I heard someone call out something and fire flew into the air.

"What was that!?" Ash exclaimed.

"We'll find out in a minute," Sara murmured and we came to a large clearing. We saw the hot air balloon first with Team Rocket standing in front of it with Seviper and Cacnea in front of them. There was another person in the clearing, she had red hair tied up but was spiked out in four different directions. She also had a black shirt that showed her stomach and a small red flame on the front. She had blue jeans with a red belt and black shoes, and friendly red eyes. She had a big red Pokemon in front of her and two little yellow Pokemon hiding behind her.

"What is it with twerps!?" Jessie growled. "We finally get the chance to steal their Pokemon and new twerps show up and rescue them!"

"Sparky!" I exclaimed.

"Pikachu!" Ash smiled.

Both Pokemon turned to look at us and their faces brightened. They ran over to us.

"Oh no you don't!" Jessie growled. "Seviper, Poison Tail!"

"Blaziken! Blaze Kick!" the girl commanded her Pokemon and I looked up to see it hit Seviper with a flaming foot. Seviper was thrown back and landed on Jessie.

_So that's a Blaziken_, I thought. _That's what Combusken will be one day_.

Sparky jumped into my arms and I hugged it, Ash hugged Pikachu.

Brawly murmured something that I didn't catch. Sparky climbed up to my shoulder and I threw a Pokeball. "Combusken! Let's go!" Combusken came out and stood beside Blaziken. I stood beside the girl.

She blinked at me and smiled, I looked back at her. "Thank you for finding Pikachu and Sparky."

"No worries," she nodded "You ready?"

I nodded.

"Now, Blaziken, Double Kick!" she called.

"Now, Combusken, Double Kick!" I called.

Both Fire Type Pokemon jumped up at Team Rocket and kicked them twice, sending them all back to the air balloon.

"Buneary, use Ice Beam!" Sara called, running to stand beside me. Buneary bounced in front of her and froze Team Rocket with its Ice Beam attack.

"Sparky, your turn," I smiled and pointed towards Team Rocket. "Bolt Tackle!"

Sparky ran down my arm and jumped into the air. Electricity surrounded it and it reached the ground, running towards Team Rocket with incredible speed. "Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika!!!!!!!!!" it said as it ran, it was in a bad mood. "Pik-A!!!!!!" it growled as it collided with them and there was a massive explosion and Team Rocket were thrown into the air.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they called and they disappeared.

"That was amazing," the girl smiled. "You both battled well."

"Thanks," Sara and I smiled.

The girl looked at our friends and spotted Brawly. "Brawly? Shouldn't you be in Dewford Town?"

Brawly shrugged. "I left it in Justin's hands. Nice to see you again, Flannery."

"Flannery!?" I exclaimed, she looked back at me and nodded. "Wow. Thank you so much for helping our Pokemon!"

"You don't need to formally thank me," Flannery smiled. "It was a pleasure to help out Pokemon in need."

"Pika, Pi!" Sparky smiled and jumped on Flannery's shoulder. Flannery smiled and patted Sparky.

"You had lunch yet?" Flannery asked, returning her Blaziken, I returned Combusken. We all shook our heads. "Well come on, I'll treat you all to lunch."

We followed her to a large field and we all set up a table while Flannery got out a pot and Gary came back with firewood. Flannery let her Pokemon. She had Blaziken, of course, a Slugma and a Torkoal. We let out all of our Pokemon as well, the smallest ones started playing and Flannery's Pokemon greeted them all. Flannery used Blaziken to start the fire and she began cooking.

There was enough for everyone, including all the Pokemon. Us trainers sat at the table and talked as we ate, the Pokemon talked amongst themselves. Sparky, Pikachu and Buneary sat up on the table to eat as well.

"So you, Paul and Ash are planning on battling me for a Heat Badge, is that right?" Flannery looked at me.

I smiled and nodded. "We were training earlier but Team Rocket got in our way."

Flannery smiled back. "Who's battling me first?"

"I am," Ash said.

Flannery nodded. "I'm looking forward to battling the three of you. Ash, I'll battle you this afternoon, how does that sound?"

"That sounds great!" Ash smiled.

"And then I'll battle you tomorrow," Flannery looked at me. "Paul, you can be later on in the afternoon." But then she blinked at me. "You know, you remind me of someone. I just can't remember who......."

I tilted my head in confusement. "Huh?"

"That's it!" Flannery seemed to remember. "You know the Gym Leader in Petalburg City? Jake! You remind me of him! You tilt your head in the exact same way as he does when he's confused!"

"Oh, Jake," I smiled. "That's my brother."

Flannery seemed shocked. "Wow. You look so much like him."

"I know. Everybody says that," I shrugged. "But after I defeat you, and then the Fortree City Gym Leader, I have to go back to Petalburg City to beat my brother."

"That's some motivation," Flannery smiled and looked like she remembered something again. "Now I remember, he used to talk about you when he challenged me to a Gym battle. This was when he started as a trainer. He told me that one day you would be following the same path as him. He'd be proud of the trainer you've become."

"Yeah, she's an awesome trainer," Sara smiled. "You should have seen what she's been through. Team Aqua trying to take her, getting into a fight with Ash, saving his life. Have you heard of- Never mind." She looked at me nervously.

I sighed. "If you must, Sara."

Sara smiled. "Have you heard of the prophecy?"

Flannery swallowed some of her food and nodded. "It's on a poster in the Pokemon Center. What about it?"

"Well, Team Aqua, Team Magma, and pretty much everybody thinks that Skye is the one in the prophecy. It does have her name in it and all....."

Flannery shrugged. "You never know. There's been no sign that Groudon or Kyogre have been awakened, so it might not happen for another century or so."

I smiled, Flannery seemed to be on my side.

"But Team Aqua have said that they're gonna try and wake up Kyogre," Gary put in. "They think they can control it."

"Team Magma said the same about Groudon," Paul added.

Flannery shrugged again and smiled and me. "It might not be Skye, it could be another person called Skye. I mean, there are also guys that can have that name, too."

"Oh yeah, a guy saves the world," Sara sighed. "Just like in the movies, it's always a guy. It's never a girl."

"I don't want anything to do with the prophecy anyway," I muttered. "Someone else can save the world. It's none of my concern."

"You're so stubborn," Ash nudged me.

"I am not!" I grumbled, nudging him back and making him fall off his chair. Everyone laughed.

Ash got back up. "Are so."

"Are not!"

"Are to!"

I growled and turned my back on him.

"So, why did Skye fight with Ash?" Flannery asked Sara.

Sara blinked, trying to remember the whole thing. "Well, at the time, Skye was going out with Brawly," I flinched. "Ash was jealous so Skye and Ash went for a walk to talk, I don't know quite what was said but they got into a punch up about it. Pikachu and Sparky came running through Mauville City to find us and when we got there, Skye was winded, but they were both badly hurt. They had blood all over their faces."

"And they're going out now?" Flannery asked, Sara nodded. Flannery looked at Brawly. "How did you take it? We know how hot-headed you are."

Brawly shrugged and looked away, I didn't look at him.

"Put it this way," Gary sighed. "Sara wanted to kill Brawly for what he said to Skye."

"What did he say?" Flannery asked.

Everyone was silent, Brawly didn't want to repeat it. Neither did I.

"He said all I do is mess around with people's feelings by going from one person to the other," I growled, looking at the table. "In other words, he called me a player."

"Brawly!" Flannery was stunned. "You've never said anything like that!"

Brawly shrugged.

"She's only 13, as well," Sara muttered. "He's 16."

"Brawly, how could you!?" Flannery growled. "I never thought you would ever say something as cruel as that-"

"Leave it, Flannery," I sighed. "It doesn't matter what you say, he'll still be a jerk." I got up and started walking away.

"Skye," Sara sighed.

I didn't go far, I just sat where the land sloped down like a small hill. I sat down there and looked further down where Lavaridge Town was. Sparky ran over to join me and sat beside me. My other Pokemon watched me curiously, ready to follow me if I walked off.

Ash got up to come over and talk to me but Flannery stood up as well. "Ash, you sit down. I'll talk to her."

Ash blinked at her but sat down, watching Flannery walk over to join me. She sat beside me and I looked at her.

"Skye, don't worry yourself about Brawly," she smiled.

I shrugged and looked away. "He hates me."

"I'm sure he doesn't," Flannery insisted. "But he's a sensitive guy, his feelings get hurt pretty easily. When he's like that he doesn't fully understand what he says."

"Yeah, but he's stuck to his words," I muttered. "I'm sure he meant what he said."

"Maybe, but that's him," Flannery smiled. "He just needs to get over himself, right?"

I heard the amusement in her voice and I smiled back at her. "Yeah."

"He just really likes you," Flannery murmured. "I know you're a bit young to understand, but people like Brawly sometimes take a liking to somebody and it's hard to let them go. Because they feel bad, they want you to feel bad as well. He just doesn't understand properly. He likes you mostly because you're pretty, that's all he pays attention to."

"How do you know?" I asked, not unkindly.

"It was the same for me," she replied with a smile. "He said I was so beautiful, my eyes sparkled like flowing lava and my hair glistened like a live fire. But when I told him I wanted to pursue my dreams of taking over the Lavaridge Gym one day from my mother, he got mad and thought I was just using him and he refused to speak to me. But after a while, he understood and he accepted my decisions."

"So, how do I get him to accept _my_ choice?" I asked. "Because I chose Ash over him."

"He just needs to relax, he should just be happy being your friend. Obviously you like Ash a lot more."

"We've been through more," I sighed. "We met when I started my journey as a Pokemon Trainer. I saved his Pikachu."

Flannery seemed interested. "How?"

"Team Rocket took it," I explained. "Sparky and I found Pikachu and we protected it, then Ash, Sara and another friend, Brock, came and Team Rocket were sent blasting off. Then they invited me to tag along with them."

Flannery smiled. "And since then you've been good friends. What happened when you met Brawly?"

"We walked into the Dewford Gym and I challenged him to a battle and he said I was a gem, and that just because I was 'beautiful' that he wouldn't go easy on me."

She sighed. "Yep, that's Brawly for ya. And he calls you a player." She saw my necklace. "Hey, isn't that Brawly's?"

I looked down at it. "Yeah," I sighed. "He gave it to me. But I was meant to give it back to him soon."

"Did he ask for it back?"

"No."

Flannery shrugged. "You might as well keep it. It might hurt him more if you give back a gift."

I sighed. "The last thing I want is to hurt him more."

"Then don't give him back the necklace," she smiled. "Forget about him. He'll get over it in time. The sooner, the better. Come on, let's go back."

I nodded and got up, following her back, avoiding Brawly's eyes.

"You okay?" Ash asked when I sat down next to him and Sparky rejoined Pikachu and Buneary.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied.

After we had lunch, we packed up and returned our Pokemon. Sparky sat up on my shoulder as we made our way down to Lavaridge Town so Ash could battle Flannery.

We entered the Gym and I saw how big it was, the walls looked like metal and it was really hot inside.

"How hot does it need to be?" Sara whined.

"Sorry," Flannery smiled. "But it is a Gym for Fire Type Pokemon."

Sara sighed and we went to sit down, Ash and Flannery took their positions on either end of the battlefield.

"Where's the referee?" Ash asked as Flannery got a Pokeball from a tray and put it to her belt.

"Don't need one," Flannery smiled. "It will be a three on three Pokemon battle. Once all three Pokemon are unable to battle, the winner is decided. Only the challenger is allowed to substitute."

"Okay," Ash smiled.

"Battle begin," Flannery smiled and threw a Pokeball. "Slugma, let's go!"

I saw a little red Pokemon appear and I wondered which Pokemon Ash would counter with.

He grabbed a Pokeball and threw it into the air. "Totodile, I choose you!"

Totodile appeared and jumped into the air happily.

"You may have the first attack, Ash," Flannery bowed and stood up straight again.

"Okay then," Ash smiled. "Totodile, use Water Gun!"

Totodile spat out a Water Gun towards the little Pokemon.

"Slugma, dodge it," Flannery waved her hand. Slugma jumped off the ground and landed somewhere else.

"Slugma, use Smokescreen," Flannery smiled.

"Slugma!" it said and spat out a gray smoke. It went everywhere and Ash couldn't see what was happening in the battle. All he heard was Totodile crying out every time Slugma hit it.

Ash thought quickly and came up with a sudden idea, one that would hit Slugma whichever direction it came at. "Totodile, spin and use Water Gun!"

_What_!? I thought. _That's the move I used earlier_! I smiled. _Smart one, Ash_.

I saw water spraying everywhere like whips and this time it was Slugma that called out when it was hit.

The smoke cleared and I saw Slugma lying on the ground.

"Slugma!" Flannery exclaimed.

Ash smirked. "Great work, Totodile," he glanced at me and poked his tongue out. I rolled my eyes at him, smiling back.

"WOW!" Sara's eyes widened and I looked at Slugma, it was shining white. It was evolving.

It changed shape and the white disappeared. It still looked like Slugma, but it had a huge black shell on its back.

"Magcargo!" it said.

"Magcargo?" I murmured.

"Ash is in for it now," Sara smiled. "Magcargo looks mad."

She was right, it _did_ look mad.

"Aright!" Flannery smiled. "Magcargo, use Flamethrower!"

"Use Water Gun!" Ash commanded.

Water and fire clashed together and there was a huge explosion.

"Tackle!" Ash called.

Totodile ran forward and headbutted Magcargo, sending it flying backwards.

"Magcargo, use Smog!" Flannery called.

Magcargo spat out a brown liquid and it covered Totodile's eyes. Totodile tried to get it off but couldn't.

"Totodile!" Ash called.

"Flamethrower," Flannery waved her hand.

Magcargo used Flamethrower and it flew towards Totodile.

"PIKACHU!" Sparky called.

"Totodile, spin and use Water Gun!"

Totodile started spinning on its back, spraying water up into the air like a thousand whips. It blocked the Flamethrower attack and it grabbed Magcargo, throwing it up into the water whips, getting thrown back and forth.

Totodile stopped and Magcargo fell to the ground, unable to continue battling.

Flannery smiled. "Nice move, Ash."

"Thanks," Ash smiled. "I picked it up from Skye."

Flannery returned her Pokemon. "Good job, Magcargo. Thanks for a great battle."

Ash returned Totodile. "You deserve a rest, buddy. I might need you later."

Flannery threw a Pokeball. "Torkoal, come on out!"

Ash threw a Pokeball as well. "Corphish, I choose you!"

"Let's go," Flannery smiled. "Look out, Ash."

"I don't think so," Ash smiled back. "Corphish, use Bubblebeam!"

Corphish opened its claws and bubbles shot out at Torkoal.

"Dodge it and use Heat Wave!" Flannery smiled.

"Heat Wave?" I echoed and looked at Sara. "What's that?"

"It's a powerful Fire Type move," Paul answered when Sara shrugged. "But it takes up a lot of the Pokemon's energy."

I turned my attention back to the battle as Torkoal jumped neatly out of the way, despite its size, and steam flew out of its nose. I pulled out my Pokedex.

"Torkoal," it said. "The Coal Pokemon. The source of this Pokemon's fire power is coal. To fuel up, Torkoal digs for coal in mountains and stores the coal in its shell. If Torkoal runs out of coal, it grows weaker. Torkoal will spout thick smoke from its nose and shell when it retreats from an attacker."

I looked back at Torkoal, it shell was glowing red and I felt a vibration through the floor. Then Torkoal opened its mouth and out came a flamethrower-like attack.

"Corphish, dodge it!" Ash called.

Corphish didn't have time to move, it was hit directly. It took serious damage.

"Corphish!" Ash called.

"Ash, return it!" Sara called. "Don't be an idiot! Send out another Pokemon!"

Ash nodded and held out Corphish's Pokeball, it was obvious that Corphish wasn't suited for this battle. "Corphish, return!"

Ash thought deeply for a moment, I wondered if he was considering sending Totodile back out, or Phanpy.

Ash shook his head. "Sorry, Phanpy, but this isn't for you. Pikachu!"

Pikachu looked up at him. "Pika?"

"Do you want to battle?" he asked.

Pikachu smiled and nodded. "Pika-chu!" Pikachu ran out onto the battlefield.

Flannery smiled. "Alright. Torkoal, use Flamethrower!"

"Dodge it, Pikachu!" Ash said.

Torkoal spat out a Flamethrower and Pikachu jumped up, dodging it by inches.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash called.

Pikachu ran at Torkoal at an extremely fast speed and hit it side on.

"Torkoal, Flamethrower!" Flannery called.

"Dodge it, Pikachu!" Ash smiled.

Torkoal blew Flamethrowers in Pikachu's direction, but every time, Pikachu was able to dodge it, Torkoal was getting tired.

"Alright, Pikachu, finish up with Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu stood a few feet away from Torkoal. "Pika-CHUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!" it growled and electricity flew from its tiny body, flying at its opponent and shocking it.

Torkoal cringed as the electricity shocked its whole body, and then it fell over.

Flannery sighed and pulled out its Pokeball, returning it. "Good job, Torkoal. Thank you." She grabbed another Pokeball and threw it into the air. "Okay. Vulpix, it's up to you!"

"Vulpix?" Ash echoed and watched as a little red fox Pokemon appeared, it had six red tails.

"Wow...." I murmured and held my Pokedex up.

"Vulpix," it said. "The Fox Pokemon. A Vulpix is born with only one white tail. If its trainer loves it and cares for it, Vulpix's tail will change color and split into six separate tails."

"It's cute," I murmured.

"Let's just see if Ash can handle this," Sara muttered. "He has all three of his Pokemon left but he could still lose. Maybe he should have stuck with Phanpy."

"Pika, Pi," Sparky looked down to watch Pikachu.

"Alright," Flannery smiled. "Vulpix, use Flamethrower!"

"Dodge it, Pikachu and use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

As the Flamethrower flew at Pikachu, it dodged to the left. Pikachu stood its ground. "Pika-CHUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!" it said and electricity flew at Vulpix.

"Dodge it," Flannery smiled and Vulpix jumped neatly out of the way.

"Vul!" it said.

"Pikachu, try a Quick Attack!" Ash said.

"You too, Vulpix!" Flannery smirked.

Pikachu and Vulpix ran at each other with increased speed and hit each other head on.

They both fell back but got straight back up again.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash called.

"Vulpix, Flamethrower!" Flannery called for a counter.

Fire and electricity clashed together and caused a massive explosion. I covered my eyes as the smoke rose up to us, the others were the same.

"Pika!" Sparky complained, covering its eyes, turning away from the smoke.

When it cleared, Pikachu and Vulpix were still standing.

Ash smirked. "Let's see if Vulpix can counter this. Pikachu! Use Bolt Tackle!"

Flannery was shocked for a few seconds, she had seen Sparky use Bolt Tackle but I guess she wasn't expecting Pikachu to know it too.

Sparky smiled as Pikachu ran towards Vulpix, electricity surrounding it completely. "Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika!!!!!!" Pikachu said as it ran.

"Vulpix, dodge it and use Fire Spin!" Flannery commanded.

Vulpix jumped neatly to the side and into the air. Pikachu stopped and the electricity disappeared. Vulpix opened its mouth and fire came out in spirals towards Pikachu.

Ash growled. "Pikachu, you saw how Totodile did it! Jump, spin and use Thunderbolt!"  
I smiled and shook my head.

Pikachu jumped into the air, avoiding the fiery attack and started spinning. "Pika-CHUUUUU!!!!!!" it said and electricity was everywhere, all over the field. Vulpix had a hard time dodging it. The electricity was like a thousand whips coming from one energy source.

Vulpix was hit quite a few times and was getting weaker with every hit.

"Now, use Bolt Tackle!" Ash called.

"From the sky!?" Flannery exclaimed.

Pikachu stopped using Thunderbolt and dived down, electricity surrounding it again. "Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika!!!!!" it said as it came down towards Vulpix.

"Vulpix, dodge it!" Flannery ordered but Vulpix was too exhausted, it could barely stand up.

Pikachu collided with Vulpix. "Pik-A!!!!!!!!!" it growled and there was another explosion.

Smoke filled the whole room again and I covered my eyes once more. Sparky turned away again and Mightyena came out of its Pokeball.

The smoke cleared and we all looked onto the battlefield, Pikachu was still standing, with its arms crossed. Vulpix was on the ground, unable to get up.

"That's it then," Flannery smiled and returned her Pokemon. "Well done, Vulpix. Thank you for an amazing battle." She looked at Ash. "You win. You have earned the Heat Badge."

Mightyena smiled and howled. It opened its mouth and a Shadow Ball started forming. For a moment I was confused, but then it closed its mouth and the black sphere flew into the air above Ash. It exploded and came down as tiny black and purple sparkles.

"Wow," Sara smiled. "That was pretty."

Flannery walked over to Ash and Pikachu and held out a small red and yellow Badge in the palm of her hand. "You've earned it."

Ash took it with a smile. "Thanks."

We all came down and Sparky smiled at Pikachu. "Pi, Pika-chu, Pi!" Sparky said.

"Pika!" Pikachu smiled back.

Flannery sighed and stretched. "It's getting kinda late. You should head to the Pokemon Center before it closes."

"Yeah, well, we'll see you tomorrow," Sara smiled. "Skye and Paul still need to battle you."

Flannery smiled back. "See you."

We smiled and started leaving, but Gary stopped. "Brawly, aren't you coming?"

I looked over my shoulder and saw Brawly standing beside Flannery.

"Yeah. I'll be with you guys later. I just need to talk to Flannery," he replied.

I snorted. _Probably going to ask her out again_, I assumed and shrugged. "Okay. Later," I led everyone out of the Gym and we headed to the Pokemon Center.

"Hey, Skye," Sara murmured, walking beside me.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I was wondering," she looked at Mightyena. "Do you think you and Mightyena could teach Glaceon how to use Shadow Ball?"

I was a little confused. "But Glaceon is an Ice Type Pokemon, it wouldn't be able to learn a Dark Type move."

Sara thought for a moment. "I know, but.... remember when we met Jake in Petalburg City? He said that Poochyena was too weak to learn Shadow Ball...."

"I know that," I sighed. "But Poochyena was a Dark Type Pokemon, which meant it was possible to learn..... Glaceon won't be able to."

"That's what Jake said about Poochyena....."

"Why do you want Glaceon to learn it?" I asked.

Sara smiled. "What Mightyena did earlier was amazing. If Glaceon could do that then.... well, Contests would be a breeze...."

I sighed. "We'll try. But there's no guarantees."

Sara smiled again. "Now?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, why not?" I looked at Gary, Paul and Ash. "We'll see you guys later."

"Where are you going?" Gary asked.

"To teach a move to Glaceon," Sara grinned. "Bye."

Sparky hung onto my shoulder as Sara and I ran off, Mightyena running on my other side.

We found the field Ash and I had trained at earlier and Mightyena and I faced Sara. She grabbed a Pokeball and threw it into the air. "Okay, Glaceon. Center Stage!"

Glaceon appeared and stretched beautifully.

"Now, Glaceon, we're going to try and learn how to use Shadow Ball," Sara smiled. "How does that sound?"

"Glace!" Glaceon smiled back.

"Mightyena, do what you did back at the Gym," I murmured. "Show Glaceon."

"Might! Mightyena!" Mightyena nodded and opened its mouth, a black and purple sphere forming. It let it go and the ball flew into the air, exploding and coming back down as little sparkles.

"Glace! Glaceon!" Glaceon smiled.

"Now you try, Glaceon," I encouraged.

Glaceon nodded and opened its mouth, trying to make a Shadow Ball appear. It tried over and over again, but there was no result.

Sara smiled. "You'll get it over time, Glaceon, don't you worry!"  
"Sara, maybe it won't work...." I sighed. "Glaceon wasn't meant for Dark Type attacks."

"Well.... maybe Glaceon is different!" Sara objected. "Glaceon will get this, I just know it!"

"It's getting late, maybe we should head back and try again another time," I murmured.

"You can," Sara said. "Me and Glaceon will practice a bit more."

I nodded. "Mightyena, can you stay with them and help them out?"

"Mightyena!" Mightyena smiled and nodded.

"Come on, Sparky," I said and Sparky jumped up to my shoulder. "See ya later, Sara."

"Yeah," Sara smiled and I started walking back to the Pokemon Center. I had to prepare myself for my match against Flannery tomorrow.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

"Brawly, why do you hold it against her?"

"Flannery, it's hard to explain," Brawly sighed as they both sat down with a mug in their hands. "First she was with Ash, then she was with me, and then she got into a fight with Ash, and after he saved her, she decided she wanted to be with him."

Flannery sighed. "Then why can't you accept that?"

"Because soon enough she'll move on from Ash and go to someone else," Brawly replied. "All she does is mess around and play with everyone's emotions! He can't stick to a proper relationship!"

"Oh, and you can stick to understanding how people feel?!" Flannery looked at him, their eyes connecting. "You forgave _me_ when I told you I wanted to take over the Gym. Why can't you forgive Skye for changing her feelings!?"

"You don't understand!"

"What is there to understand!?" Brawly blinked at her. "She's 13! She doesn't know everything about a relationship, you know! So what if she decides to move on to another guy, that's her choice!"

Brawly muttered something to himself.

"How do you think Ash felt when she left him for you!?" Flannery continued. "They had been through a lot, and then Skye meets you and goes after you instead of him. How do you think _he_ took it!?"

"Not very well.............." Brawly mumbled.

"Exactly! So can't you just accept that Skye wants to make her own choices in life!?" Flannery growled. "Just because she's trying to find the right guy for her, doesn't mean she's a player! It just means she wants to find the right person to be with! Why can't you accept that!?"

"Because Ash beat her up at one stage!" Brawly growled. "How can she be with him when there's no doubt that that won't happen again!?"

"Do you want her to be happy?" Flannery wasn't looking at him anymore, she was looking at her mug.

"Of course I do," Brawly murmured.

"Then let her make her own decisions," Flannery looked at him again. "You should be happy that she's happy..."

"So you're saying I should let it go? To just take back what I said to her and pretend that I don't love her anymore?!"

"That's not what I'm saying," Flannery blinked at him, her fierce red eyes glaring at him and making him a little nervous. "I never said you had to stop loving her! There's no rule saying you can't! But don't you think she would be happier to know that you still love her, but still respect her decisions to love someone else?"

Brawly growled and looked away from her, thinking.


	19. The Prophecy Comes True

"Okay, you ready for this, Skye?"

I smiled and looked at Flannery on the other side of the battlefield. "Of course I'm ready."

Blue eyes met red eyes for a few moments. "Alright, battle begin!" Flannery threw a Pokeball. "Torkoal, go!"

I watched as her Torkoal appeared and stood ready for battle. I picked a Pokeball from my belt and threw it into the air. "Buizel, let's go!"

Buizel appeared and faced Torkoal, a battle-ready expression on its face.

"You can call the first attack," Flannery offered me.

"Thank you," I smiled. "Buizel, let's show them a Sonicboom!"

Buizel jumped into the air and spun, a white blade appearing from its tail. "Bui!"

"Flamethrower!" Flannery waved her hand.

A huge flamethrower flew from Torkoal's mouth and hit the Sonicboom, diverting it in another direction and making it hit the wall.

I growled. "Alright, Buizel! Aqua Jet!"

Buizel was suddenly surrounded by water and it jumped into the air, coming down at Torkoal.

Flannery smirked. "Ice Beam."

"No way!" I exclaimed. "But, a Fire Type Pokemon can't learn an Ice Type move! That's impossible!"

"Nothing's impossible," Flannery smiled and Torkoal shot out an Ice Beam, freezing Buizel in its barrier of water.

I had a crazy idea and I was sure it would work. "Okay, then if a Fire Type Pokemon can learn Ice Type moves, then so can a Water Pokemon"

"What!?" Flannery's eyes widened.

"Buizel, turn it into an _Ice_ Aqua Jet!" I called and saw Buizel spinning, the ice around it also spinning.

Buizel came crashing down on Torkoal and it broke out of the ice cage. Torkoal fell back and struggled to its feet.

"Wow...Who'd have thought that Buizel could get so strong.....?" Sara murmured to no one in particular.

"Yeah, Skye's trained it really well...." Ash mumbled. "And to think, you used to be Buizel's trainer."

"Buizel's come a long way," Sara smiled. "And so has Skye."

They turned back to the battle. I smirked.

"That was a great move," Flannery smiled. "But let's see if you can handle the heat. Torkoal, Heat Wave!"

Torkoal's shell started glowing and it opened its mouth as a huge flamethrower shot out.

"Buizel, Water Gun!" I called.

Buizel let out a Water Gun and the two attacks collided, making an explosion. Neither Pokemon were hurt.

"Torkoal, Heat Wave!" Flannery called.

"Water Pulse!" I ordered.

Torkoal spat out another flamethrower attack and a small blue sphere formed in Buizel's hands. Buizel threw it forward and it hit the ground. A huge tidal wave came up and quenched the flamethrower, hitting Torkoal directly. The water evaporated into the air from the heat, but Torkoal couldn't get up.

Flannery smiled and returned her Pokemon. "You did great, Torkoal, you deserve a good rest."

"Buizel, return," I said and held up its Pokeball. It went into it. "I'll need you later," I smiled.

"Vulpix, go!" Flannery threw a Pokeball and her Vulpix appeared.

I looked at Sparky on my shoulder. "Ready?"

Sparky smiled. "Pika-chu!"

I nodded and pointed at Vulpix. "Go get em, Sparky!"

Sparky ran up my arm and jumped into the air, landed in front of Vulpix.

"Let's go," Flannery smiled. "Vulpix, Flamethrower!"

"Sparky, dodge it!"

Vulpix fired a Flamethrower and Sparky jumped up, narrowly dodging it and landing on the ground further away.

"Thunderbolt!" I called.

Sparky nodded. "Pika-CHUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" electricity flew off its body and hit Vulpix. Vulpix cringed and blew out another Flamethrower.

"Dodge it!" I called but Sparky was too late. Sparky was hit with the flames and thrown back. "Sparky!"

Sparky struggled to its paws and growled.

"Bolt Tackle!" I called.

Sparky started running towards Vulpix, electricity flowing all around it. "Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika!!!!!" it said quickly as it ran.

"Double Team," Flannery waved her hand.

Vulpix suddenly split into 12 Pokemon, making Sparky skid to a stop, looking at all the Vulpix's, trying to figure out which one was the real one.

"Snap!" I growled.

"Flamethrower," Flannery murmured.

Vulpix opened its mouth and all the illusions disappeared. Vulpix was behind Sparky and it let loose the flamethrower. Sparky didn't have time to turn around, it was hit from behind and sent flying.

"Sparky!" I called and held my arms out, catching Sparky. "That's enough for you."

"Pika," Sparky sighed and I put it down on the ground beside me.

I pulled out a Pokeball. "Vulpix isn't worth using Gyarados. So Buizel, you're up!" I threw the Pokeball and Buizel came out, its arms crossed. I caught the ball and put it back to my belt. "Buizel, Aqua Jet!"

Buizel was surrounded by water and it jumped up into the air, coming back down at Vulpix.

"Dodge it," Flannery directed and Vulpix neatly jumped out of the way. Buizel hit the ground with its feet and spun to face Vulpix.

"Flamethrower," Flannery murmured and Vulpix opened its mouth, letting out its Flamethrower.

"Water Gun!" I called.

Buizel nodded and opened its mouth with a toss of its head, letting out the Water Gun.

Fire and Water collided and caused an explosion.

"Bite," Flannery smiled and Vulpix ran at Buizel, biting down on its tail.

"Bui!" Buizel spun to attack it, but Vulpix was gone.

"Pika!" Sparky called and Buizel spun around, having only enough time to see Vulpix as it slammed into it. Buizel fell back, unable to get up.

I sighed and pulled out Buizel's Pokeball. "Buizel, return," it was sucked inside it and I looked at the ball. "You were great, Buizel. Thank you."

"Now, for your last Pokemon," Flannery smiled. "Which one shall you choose?"

_Gyarados would be my best choice_, I thought. _If I can manage to defeat her Vulpix, and then her Blaziken or Magcargo, then I can still win this, all with Gyarados_.

I wasn't going to be foolish and send out Combusken and take my chances, I had to send out Gyarados if I wanted any chance of winning this battle. I grabbed Gyarados's Pokeball and threw it. "Gyarados, I need you now!"

Gyarados appeared and let out a loud roar, looking down at Vulpix.

"Smart choice," Flannery smiled. "Vulpix, Flame Wheel."

Vulpix opened its mouth and let out a blast of fire, making it swirl in circles, spiraling towards Gyarados.

"Dragon Rage!" I called and Gyarados opened its mouth, letting out its own blast of fire.

Fire and Fire collided and caused a massive explosion.

Vulpix was done for in just a few hits and Flannery returned her Pokemon. "Great work, Vulpix. You fought hard, take a long rest."

I smiled. "You're doing great, Gyarados!"

Gyarados turned and looked at me, a smile on its face, and it nodded before turning back to Flannery.

"Alright, Blaziken!" she threw a Pokeball. "Your turn now!"

Blaziken appeared and looked up at Gyarados, a challenge beaming in its eyes.

"You can go first," I offered the Gym Leader.

"I'm honored," she smiled. "Blaziken, Blaze Kick!"

Blaziken jumped up, its foot catching fire, and flying towards Gyarados.

"Tail Whip!" I called. Gyarados swung its tail up and knocked Blaziken away, making it crash into the wall, its foot melting some of the wall.

"Flamethrower!" Flannery called.

"Hydro Pump!" I ordered.

The Flamethrower came up at Gyarados, but water spun around its mouth before flying down to meet it. There was another explosion and steam rose up. It was really hot in the gym, I felt sweat dripping down my face.

"Fire Blast!" Flannery smiled.

Blaziken opened its mouth and a big ball of fire came out, taking the shape of a star, shooting towards Gyarados.

"Dragon Rage!" I called. _It's time to fight fire, with fire_, I thought. _Otherwise we won't get anywhere_...

Both Pokemon kept firing their burning attacks at each other, causing explosions everywhere.

Sparky jumped up on my shoulder, watching the burning battle.

"Flamethrower!" Flannery ordered.

"Dragon Rage!" I called.

Both attacks flew at each other, but when they collided and caused the explosion, the flames leaped to the side, catching the walls of the gym.

My eyes flew wide with shock when I saw the flames start eating away the walls, starting to burn the gym down.

"Oh, no!" Sara called. "The gym's gonna burn to a crisp!"

"Not if I can help it!" I growled. "Gyarados! Use Hydro Pump!"

Gyarados faced the fire and Flannery watched as water appeared at its mouth and shot towards the fire, making it go down slowly.

"We need more help," I grabbed a Pokeball and threw it. "Buizel, we need you!" I knew Buizel needed to rest after the battle, but this was important.

Ash threw two Pokeballs. "Totodile, Corphish! Help out!"

All four Pokemon moved around the gym, firing water at all the fire, Flannery looked very surprised.

Fire caught the roof, and rubble started falling down.

"Skye!" Ash called and I looked up to see a huge piece of the roof falling down, guaranteed to fall on top of me.

Me and Sparky prepared for the collision, there was no time to try and run. My eyes shut tight and I fell into a crouch.

"Machop, Makuhita, go!"

I waited for the point where we would get crushed, but nothing was happening.

"Pika!" Sparky said and I opened my eyes to see Brawly's Pokemon, Machop and Makuhita, they were holding up the piece of rubble, stopping it from crushing me and Sparky. They threw the rubble away and I stood up.

"Thank you," I nearly whispered and I looked up at Brawly. He had sent his Pokemon to help me? He sat there normally, with a relieved expression on his face. He caught my eye but looked away, holding out the two Pokeballs.

"Machop, Makuhita, return," he said and the Pokemon disappeared.

I would thank him later. "Gyarados, use Hydro Pump on the roof! Buizel, use Water Pulse!"

"Totodile, Water Gun! Corphish, Bubblebeam!" Ash called.

All four of the Water Type Pokemon fire their attacks all around, making steam rise up, but the fire was finally put out.

Flannery sighed. "Thank you so much for saving the gym!" she smiled. "Are you alright, Skye?"

"Yea, I'm fine," I nodded. _Thanks to Brawly_, I added silently. "We can get back to the battle now."

She smiled and nodded. "Blaziken-" There was a loud crash and I looked up to see a hot-air balloon, Team Rocket in the basket.

"Not them again!" Ash growled.

"I am so sick of them!" Gary muttered.

"Get over it, twerps!" Meowth growled. "We're here for those Pikachu, now hand them over!"

"No way!" I called but Sara ran to my side, a smile on her face.

Jessie sighed and was about to talk.

"Listen, is that a voice I hear?" it was Sara that spoke!

I caught on quickly, seeing her eyes shine with excitement. "It's speaking to me, loud and clear!"

"On the wind!" Sara extended her arms.

"Past the stars!" my arms came up.

"A rose by any other name's just as sweet!"

"When everything's worse, our work is complete!"

"Sara!"

"Skye!"

"Pikachu!" Sparky jumped up on my shoulder again.

"Glaceon!" Glaceon popped out of its Pokeball.

"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!"

"Dashing hopes and putting fear in its place."

"We're not Team Rocket!"

"And we're in your face!" I smirked, going back to back with Sara.

"Pi, Pikachu!" Sparky smiled.

"Glace, Glace!" Glaceon added.

We looked at the dumbfounded expressions of Team Rocket as they blinked at us with surprise, then we looked at our friends...

"Do we know them?" Gary whispered to Ash.

"Apparently so," Ash blinked.

I growled. "Sparky..."

Sparky nodded and jumped from my shoulder, walking a few paces away. "Pika..."

Ash and Gary looked at Sparky, their eyes wide.

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" electricity flew from Sparky's body and electrocuted Gary and Ash.

"Ow," Gary muttered and I saw the smoke rising from his hair.

"What was that for!?" Ash growled.

I looked at him, then stubbornly turned my head away, my nose in the air.

"How dare you steal our motto, twerps!" James yelled at me and Sara.

"That was fun," Sara smiled. "Now I see why they like saying it all the time." She looked up at Team Rocket. "Can we say it every time you come to annoy us?"

"NO!" all three of them yelled. "It's our motto!"

"Well, we have our own version," I poked my tongue out at them. "Just, a few words were changed."

"Not many," Meowth muttered.

"Who cares!?" Sara growled. "Time to get rid of you!"

I nodded. "Gyarados, use Hyper Beam!"

"Glaceon, use Ice Beam!"

The two attacks flew up at the hot-air balloon, but a big metal thing got in the way and sucked in the attacks.

Jessie, James and Meowth started laughing. "Attack us all you want, twerps!" Jessie laughed. "But this shield will just absorb your Pokemon's power, leaving you powerless to stop us!"

"Oh yeah!?" Sara growled and pulled out a Pokeball. "Buneary, let's go!"

Buneary appeared, looking up at the giant piece of junk.

"Now, Buneary, use Bounce, and then Dizzy Punch on that shield!" Sara commanded. "Break it in half!"

Buneary nodded and jumped, flying into the air. Its ears glowed white and it started hitting the metal shield over and over again. "Bun! Bun! Bun!" Buneary growled each time it struck the shield, nothing was happening.

Buneary was getting tired, its attacks were getting weaker. It started to fall towards the ground, but Gyarados caught it on its head.

"Buneary!" Sara called. "Are you alright!?"

Gyarados leaned its head down and Sara took Buneary in her arms, hugging her rabbit Pokemon.

"Stop trying, twerps!" James laughed. "Nothing will work!"

"Blaziken, Blaze Kick!" Flannery growled. "Nobody trespasses in my gym and gets away with it!"

Blaziken jumped up to attack the shield, but it was caught in a net and hung from the bottom of Team Rocket's basket.

"Thanks for the present," Meowth smiled. "Our boss will appreciate such a powerful Pokemon."

"Give Blaziken back!" I growled. "Gyarados, Dragon Rage!"

Fire circled in front of Gyarados's mouth and the fire shot up, hitting the shield.

"Gligar, use Steel Wing!" I heard Brawly call and I saw his Gligar flying straight for the net. Of course Brawly would help Flannery's Pokemon!

"Nice try!" Meowth said and pressed a button, then Gligar was stuck in the net, too!

"Buneary, use Ice Beam!" Sara said.

Buneary jumped out of her arms, its mouth open. But then a giant pink hand came down and grabbed Buneary, putting it in the net.

"If you keep going like that, you're sure to lose all your Pokemon," Jessie smiled.

"That's it!" I growled and pulled out a Pokeball. "Absol, let's go!"

Absol appeared, standing tall.

"Razor Wind!" I called.

Absol gracefully swung its head and a white blade shot up, aiming straight for the net.

The shield moved into the way and blocked the attack. The pink hand came down.

"Okay, time to break this stupid piece of junk!" I growled. "Absol, use Perish Song on the shield!"

Absol nodded and let out an ear-splitting cry, shaking the whole gym. The vibrations flew up and hit the shield, over and over again. The pink hand was pushed back and it broke, sparks flying all around it.

"Nice try!" James called. "But that attack will never-"

CRACK! SMASH!

I watched as the shield broke in half and fell to the ground. "Now, Absol! Use Razor Wind!"

Absol swung its head and the white blade shot up, cutting the top of the net and letting all the Pokemon free. Blaziken landed on its feet and Flannery ran over, hugging it. Sara caught Buneary and Gligar flew back to Brawly.

"Now let's finish up," I growled. "Gyarados, use Hyper Beam!"

Everyone watched as a golden sphere formed in front of Gyarados's mouth and it turned into a beam, shooting up at Team Rocket. There was a huge explosion and Team Rocket were blasted into the air.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" Sara and I called, joining in on Team Rocket's little departure speech, adding in the dramatic voices.

Flannery sighed when they were gone. "Thank you all for helping."

"It was nothing," I smiled. "We were happy to help. But I don't think it looks like we're going to be able to finish our battle..."

"No," Flannery smiled and walked over to me with her Blaziken. "But you have earned this," she went into her pocket and held out the small badge, a little flame. It was the Heat Badge.

"What? But I didn't win the battle..." I mumbled.

"You didn't need to," she smiled. "You saved the gym, you are a great trainer. You have already proved to me what you can accomplish as a Pokemon trainer, you are too much like your brother."

"But..."

"Take it," Flannery insisted, putting the badge in my hands. "You deserve it."

I smiled. "Thank you, Flannery. Our battle was incredible."

"It was," she agreed. "I haven't seen someone battle like that in a long time, not since Jake."

"I'm following his footsteps as a Pokemon trainer."

"And after Winona, you battle him," Flannery murmured. "Then you can show him how strong you've become. I wish you luck on your Pokemon Journey and I hope to see you again once you've become stronger. It would be a pleasure to battle with you again one day."

I nodded. "You'll have to train hard."

"I will. You too."

"I'll have to, I have the Pokemon League to get to."

Flannery and I shook hands before we headed out, I could say a proper goodbye to her after Paul's battle, who decided to wait until tomorrow to battle, Flannery was happy to oblige.

We reached the Pokemon Center and got our Pokemon treated. I sat on the balcony that night, unable to sleep. Sparky sat on my lap, gazing up at the stars with me.

"Pika..." Sparky smiled, seeing a shooting star.

"Make a wish, Sparky," I murmured. "It might come true."

Sparky nodded and put its paws together, closing its eyes. I wished that I knew what Sparky was thinking, what Sparky was wishing for. Was it wishing to get stronger? For Brawly to forgive me at last? To one day be able to evolve? I wasn't sure, but I reckoned that I would find out one day.

After a while, Sparky fell asleep on my lap, curled up in a ball. I sat there, looking up at the stars, and before I knew it, I fell asleep.

#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#

My eyes opened quickly as I felt the wind blowing in my face, and the rain pouring down, making me feel terribly cold.

I looked around, where was I?

I was standing on a small bit of earth, with nothing but endless sea around me. My mind clicked, it was that dream again, the one I had the other day...

I saw the blue Pokemon rise from the water, its eyes shining with hatred as a waterfall rose up and went straight past me. I turned and saw the red Pokemon, standing on the land. These Pokemon were completely different, one was from the land, and the other was from the sea, but which Pokemon were they?

They both fought against each other brutally, showing no mercy, showing no pain, just endless fury.

"STOP!" I screamed at them. "STOP FIGHTING!"

The rain came down harder than before, and thunder rumbled on in the sky. The two Pokemon took no notice of me, they just continued to fight with each other.

Then, without warning, the rain stopped, and the dark gray clouds separated a little bit with a bright light shining down on the two Pokemon. They stopped fighting and looked up, so did I. There was a creature, it looked like a giant snake with two arms, and it was a dark green color with patterns all over its body like the Water and Ground Pokemon.

Standing on its back was a human, holding two spheres in their hands, a red one, and a blue one.

The light shone brightly and blinded me and I felt a great force, almost as if I would be pushed off the small bit of land and fall into the water, drifting down into the depths of the ocean.

"Skye," came a voice that I didn't recognize. "You are the one."

"What!?" I exclaimed. "What one? What are you talking about!? Who are you!?"

"Skye! Skye, get up! Skye!"

My eyes shot open and I jumped to my feet, Gary quickly grabbed me to stop me from running into the rails of the balcony and falling off. "Easy, Skye. It's alright."

I breathed quickly, my eyes wide with terror. What had just happened!? I thought it would just be the normal dream, just like before. But this time... there was another Pokemon, with a human on its back... And that voice... What was it? _Who_ was it?

"Are you okay?" I looked at Sara, her eyes wide with worry.

I calmed down a little, my heart starting to beat slower, back to its normal beat. "I'm alright..." I murmured.

"You're so pale," she fretted. "What's the matter?"

"Just a nightmare..." I told her.

"That's your second nightmare," Ash muttered. "What's it about?"

"I don't know, exactly," I admitted. "It was just... scary and confusing..." I wasn't able to explain what the dream was about. I felt like it meant something, especially from the voice... "_Skye. You are the one_."

But what one? What was I supposed to do?

"You guys should stay here and take care of her," Paul murmured. "I'll go and battle Flannery."

"No!" I insisted. "I'm fine. Let's go." We grabbed our stuff and headed over to the gym, Ash kept one eye on me the whole way. Flannery had decided to battle out in the open, to make it easier, more airy, and because the gym was still in ruins. His battle went well, his Ursaring put up one heck of a fight, so did his Chimchar and Elekid. He earned the Heat Badge in no time at all.

"Thanks for the great battle," Flannery smiled.

"It was nothing," Paul nodded. "You put up a good fight."

"Good luck on your Pokemon Journey," she nodded in return and he walked away, saying goodbye to us before leaving Lavaridge Town.

"We'd best be off, too," Gary murmured. "We have to get to Fallabor Town in a few days to make it in time for Sara's Contest battle."

We all agreed and said goodbye to Flannery.

"Goodbye to you all," Flannery smiled. "Good luck Sara, for your Contests, Ash and Skye, for your next gym battles. And Brawly?"

"Yeah?"

"Lighten up," she added with a hint of humor. "Take it easy on Skye from now on."

He snorted and looked away, his arms crossed. Flannery winked at me and I smiled, nodding my thanks.

"One word of advice," she said to me and Ash. "Winona is a tough Flying Type Pokemon trainer, but they are all dual type Pokemon. Be careful of her Skarmory."

"Thanks for the heads up," Ash smiled.

She smiled back. "I hope to see you again one day."

"You will," I nodded. "I'll come back and battle you. But I have a lot of traveling to do in the other regions."

She nodded. "I look forward to seeing you again. Oh, and Sara?"

"Yeah?"

"I'll give you a bit of advice for your next Contest," Flannery murmured and Sara brightened up. "I suggest that you use your Glaceon and your Buneary, they are the best team, both Ice Types, and are definitely eye-catchers. Use your Pokemon's moves wisely, and remember, it's your Pokemon that's the star of the show, if you use too many moves, your Pokemon will be hidden and you don't want that. Make sure that the audience get to see the best out of your Pokemon and you will be guaranteed to win."

"Wow, thank you so much," Sara smiled. "I'll definitely remember that at my next Contest."

"You should head off now," Flannery smiled. "Take care, all of you."

"You too," we turned and headed off, waving goodbye as we walked out of Lavaridge Town. We headed through the forest towards Fallabor Town, Sara was excited when Gary told her that it was only two days away.

We reached Fallabor Town in no time, and Sara was raring to go. She trained for a whole day, getting both her Pokemon to work on their Ice Type moves, and she kept trying to get Glaceon to try and learn Shadow Ball. Glaceon was eager to try and learn.

The Contest was even better, Sara did her very best, making Buneary and Glaceon the stars of the show. Her Pokemon did great, and she earned the Fallabor Town Contest ribbon, a huge smile on her face. Summer was there, of course, but she only came second, Sara had beaten her in a fair battle.

"I guess I'll see you at the next Contest," Summer murmured. "Bye."

As we were traveling towards Fortree City, which was 7 days away, the weather conditions were getting bad. Rain poured down constantly and the wind was very strong. Each night we had to brave the cold and make whatever we could into shelters. Brawly still never spoke to me, each time he looked at me and I opened my mouth to talk to him, he would look away, refusing to let me talk. He'd probably blow me off anyway.

Each night I had the same nightmare over and over again, the two Pokemon fighting, the green Pokemon with the human on its back and the two spheres, the voice. It was all the same, every night.

Fortree City was three days away, and we found a sign that said Camelot Castle. We looked up and saw a huge castle in the distance, a small village around it.

"We need the shelter," I sighed. "We've been soaked for four whole days now, we're all going to end up getting pneumonia! Come on!"

We all headed for the castle, going straight to the big building. We entered and got out of the rain. We sighed and shook ourselves, Sparky and Pikachu shook themselves, sending water flying.

"Excuse me," said a voice and we all looked up. "But may I ask what you were doing out in the rain?"

The lady was pretty. She had blond curly hair with kind brown eyes, and a light blue dress that reached the floor. She also had a crown on her head, maybe this place was actually a kingdom of some sort, one I had never heard of.

"We came from Fallabor Town," I replied. "We've been living in the rain for the past four days ever since it all started. We are sorry to have come onto your grounds, but we had no other choice."

She smiled. "That is not a concern. We need to get you cleaned and warmed up. This weather was not caused by accident." Her eyes suddenly went dark. "Follow me," when she looked up at us, her eyes were kind again.

We followed her to some rooms and we all got cleaned up, and we also got ourselves dry and warm. She took us to a main room, sitting down on a chair. The room was huge.

"I am Princess Anna, I am the ruler of this kingdom. May I ask your names?"

"My name is Sara," Sara smiled, bowing her head.

"I'm Ash."

"Gary."

"Brawly."

"Call me Skye," I smiled and bowed my head like the others.

"Skye!?" she exclaimed.

"Yes..."

"You have heard of the prophecy, yes?"

I sighed. "Yes, I have heard of it."

"Is it you?"

"I believe not," I said seriously.

She smiled. "That seems fair. Come with me, you will believe me once everything is revealed to you."

I blinked at her, but we all followed her to another big room. More people going on about the prophecy, that was all I needed...

The woman led us into the room and all across the walls, there were giant pictures. In the center of the room, there was a single table, with glass over the top of it. Anna ed us over to the table and we looked down onto it.

"This is the prophecy," she pointed to the tablet on the right. "And this is the legend," she pointed to the tablet on the left. Both of them were merely stones with ancient writing carved into it.

"There's a legend as well?" Sara muttered.

"Yes," Anna smiled. She looked at us. "50 years ago, before the prophecy was made, there was a man that went by the name of Skye."

"A man?" Gary echoed.

"Skye is both a female name, and a male name," Anna explained.

"Sorry, continue," he bowed his head.

"Thank you," she smiled. "Anyway, Groudon and Kyogre were very powerful Pokemon that roamed the earth, making land, and flooding the land with more water. These two Pokemon met one day, and because they each wanted to expand their elements, they became enemies and fought.

"The weather became terrible, rain poured down for many days, wind blew fiercely and lightning struck everywhere. Skye, the brave warrior, knew that if the two Pokemon were not stopped, the whole world would be destroyed. He sought out Rayquaza, the flying type Pokemon, and he asked the Pokemon to help him. Rayquaza agreed to help and together, they made the two Pokemon retreat into two different caves and fall into an ever lasting slumber.

"The warrior knew that one day, the two Pokemon would reawaken, and that someone needed to be the Chosen One to save the world, just like him. So he prophesized that one day, another person by the name of Skye, would be the one, and so he made the prophecy..."

I looked at the tablet with the prophecy, reading over the ancient writing. "**Evil-doers will awaken the two legendary Pokemon, the one from the land, and the one from the sea. Kyogre and Groudon will come in conflict, and the fighting will last eternally. The world will suffer the chaos, and everything will die. But there is only one hope, and so the world must turn to Skye. The Chosen One alone will not be enough to quell the fighting, thus the help of the legendary flying Pokemon must be obtained, to restore peace and rescue the world from its demise**..."

"Though the warrior did not know whether the prophesized one would be a boy or a girl, but he didn't mind. Either one was fine with him, but his worry was," Anna looked at me. "Whether or not the Chosen One would accept their duty."

I sighed. "But there's no sign that either of the Pokemon have been awakened-"

"Then you have obviously not seen the news," Anna murmured and led us out of the room, into a smaller room with a T.V. She pointed to it and I saw the news reporter in a helicopter. It was fierce weather, worse than what we had faced for the past four days. The camera was pointed down to show a big red Pokemon standing on its back legs, standing on a small bit of earth, and a blue Pokemon that looked like it had wings, swimming in the sea.

My eyes flew wide as I watched the two Pokemon launch themselves at each other, fighting so fiercely that it brought back the memory of my dream. These were Kyogre and Groudon, they were awake, shown on live T.V., and they were the same Pokemon from my dream.

"These two Pokemon have been awakened by somebody, and those people were not able to keep them locked up," Anna sighed. "Such foolish people wanting nothing but power..." She turned and looked at me. "Skye, as much as you do not wish to have this on your plate, this is your duty. You must stop these Pokemon from destroying the world."

My eyes didn't leave the T.V. screen. My heart was beating a million miles an hour and I was barely blinking. There was no way, Team Magma and Team Aqua actually woke them up and lost control of them. These two Pokemon must have had only one thought; to find the other so they could finish their life or death battle.

"Skye?" Ash murmured, looking at me.

_All those things that I said_, I thought. _About not being the one in the prophecy, saying somebody else could save the world for all I cared... Now this is really happening, and no one is doing anything about it. Is it possible? Am I really the one that was meant to save the world_?

"Skye," Anna said quietly and my eyes left the T.V., turning to look at her, my eyes shining with something no one had ever seen before. "Only you can save our world. Without you, the whole world will be destroyed."

"**The world will suffer the chaos, and everything will die**" Everything was making more sense. Now I couldn't say that it might not happen for another 50 years, because it was happening now, and something had to be done.

"Will you accept the path that was chosen for you?" Anna asked. "Or will you walk away and watch the world die?"

I growled. "I never wanted anything to do with this prophecy," I murmured. "I hoped that they had the wrong person, that somebody else would be the Chosen One. All I ever wanted was to become a Pokemon Master, I never wanted to try and save the world, I never wanted to try and be the hero."

"But it is you, Skye," Sara murmured. "This is your task."

"You have to," Gary added. "What do you say?"

"Well, right now I wish my mum had named me Lisa instead of Skye..." I sighed, looking back at the screen. Kyogre and Groudon were still fighting, and the helicopter was struggling to stay in the air. Rain poured down non-stop and the wind blew so fiercely that there was tornadoes all over the place, spraying water everywhere. If those two Pokemon continued to fight, all intelligent life would be destroyed, the whole earth would perish. It needed to be stopped, but could I possibly be the one to stop this?

I felt something pulling on my jeans, and I looked down to see Sparky. "Pika..." Sparky said with a smile on its face.

"You think I can do this?" I whispered. Sparky nodded. And then all of my Pokemon came out, Gyarados had to lean down to avoid hitting the roof. "You all think that I can do this?"

They all nodded and I looked at Absol. "You knew this was going to happen..."

"Ab!" it nodded. It was true; Absol had predicted the disaster after I had told that Team Aqua guy that I would stop him and his plans to destroy the world. When I had said that, it must have triggered the truth. Absol knew it was me all along.

"Skye," Anna was the one bowing her head to me. "I beg you, our world needs you. Please, will you at least try?"

I looked at her. _I am the one in this prophecy_, I decided at last. _I can't ignore it any longer. I have to try_. "Tell me which way to go," I said clearly enough, a new strength in my voice.

Anna breathed with relief. "You must first go and seek Rayquaza, you must awaken it and ask it to help."

"And where can I find him?" I asked.

"Sky Pillar," Anna told me. "Head East, it's just past Pacifidlog Town. You can travel by foot until you reach the water, and then there will be a boat waiting for you. You must brave the ocean and find Rayquaza, I am sure he will help you."

I nodded. "I'm going."

"Now?" Gary asked.

"Yes, now," I looked at him. "If I delay this for too long, everything might fail. I won't risk it."

They all looked at me, shocked, happy, proud.

"We're coming with you," Sara smiled.

I smiled back and returned my Pokemon. "Let's go then."

"Just be careful," Anna said. "The wild Pokemon have been angered by this disruption and have been attacking all humans."

"We'll be careful," Ash promised and Pikachu jumped up on his shoulder.

We turned and ran out of the castle, back out into the freezing cold rain. We ran for a long time, we were all soaked, cold and getting tired.

We reached the water where we would travel by boat from then on and we found the boat, it was pretty big. We got on and Gary, who knew how to drive a boat, took the steering wheel, starting up to motor boat and heading out into the ocean where we would have more troubles.

The sea was rough, waves endlessly crashed into the boat and we all had to try and not fall overboard.

We were close to Pacifidlog Town by the time the sun started going down, and I saw three Pokemon rise up from the water, they all looked like little sharks, and they looked mad.

"Carvanha!" Sara exclaimed.

"Pikachu!" Ash called.

"Sparky!" I added.

Pikachu and Sparky ran to the front of the boat. They held paws. "Pika-CHUUUUU!!!!!" electricity flew from their bodies and shocked the three Pokemon. Gary steered right past them, and from there on out, it was non-stop with the wild Pokemon attacks.

We reached Pacifidlog Town and tied the boat up, we weren't going to get anywhere now that it was so dark.

We went straight to the Pokemon Center and stayed there for the night, but I hardly slept, I was so eager to keep going and find Rayquaza so that we could stop Kyogre and Groudon.

Morning came so slowly and we asked for directions to Sky Pillar. No one could tell us.

"No, never heard of it," even Nurse Joy didn't know where it was.

"Let's go anyway," I growled and we got back to the boat. It had been raining all through the night, and it was still raining in the morning.

We headed off, trying to find Sky Pillar, having no luck. We were still getting attacked by wild Pokemon, but it was getting worse.

"The Pokemon don't want us to get somewhere by the looks of it," Sara observed as her Pachirisu shocked away a Sharpedo.

"Yeah, but where?" Brawly asked.

"I don't know," Sara answered.

"It might be Sky Pillar," Ash answered. "They don't want us to reach Rayquaza."

"Maybe," Gary agreed.

"I don't care if they don't want us to get there," I threw a Pokeball and Gyarados came out. "We're going there and nothing's getting in our way! Gyarados, use Hyper Beam!"

At that same moment, another Gyarados appeared, both of them got ready to fire a Hyper Beam.

"Crap!" I growled as the wild Gyarados's Hyper Beam tore across the water, heading for the boat.

We returned our Pokemon, besides Gyarados and we all jumped off the boat and it was split into pieces. Gyarados came down and got me and Sparky. I looked around under the water and saw Ash with Totodile, Sara with Glaceon, Gary with Ash's Corphish, but Brawly being dragged down by Sharpedo.

I looked at Gyarados and pointed towards Brawly. It understood and swam down, Sparky stayed with me.

We went deeper, after Brawly and the Sharpedo. Gyarados hit them away with its tail and I reached my hand out for Brawly. He grabbed my hand and Gyarados swam back up, I refused to let go of Brawly's hand.

We reached the surface and everyone was okay. Everyone climbed on Gyarados back and returned their Pokemon. Gyarados swam through the water, getting rid of any Pokemon that attacked us. We had to find Sky Pillar.

"Look, up there!" Sara called and we looked up to see a huge mountain, reaching so high that I couldn't see the top, half because of the pelting rain. "Is that Sky Pillar?"

"It must be," I nodded, seeing how high it went up. "We found it!"

We reached the shore and I returned Gyarados, thanked it and we all ran in, ready to get to the top and find Rayquaza. I didn't even stop to realize that we were running into a cave, all my thoughts were on my mission; to save the world. That was way more scarier than a cave.

We ran through cavern after cavern, up and up and up. We were getting really tired.

"How high up is this thing!?" Sara complained.

"Well it is called _Sky_ Pillar," Ash sighed. "It must reach the clouds. At least there's no rain in here."

"That's true," Gary murmured.

"But still... It's so high up!" Sara whined.

"Skye doesn't seem bothered," Brawly muttered under his breath and they all agreed, watching me edge forward. I was tired, I admit, I was exhausted! But everything was at stake, I couldn't stop and rest, I had to reach Rayquaza and ask it to help us stop Kyogre and Groudon.

Up and up and up we went, our energy seeping away quickly.

"We have to be close to the top by now!?" Sara growled.

I looked up, we had to have been going for at least a couple of hours at least, I could still hear the rain outside. Ahead of us, I saw a huge door. We walked straight up to it, there was no other direction we could go.

"Maybe this is it..." Ash murmured.

Sparky jumped up on my shoulder. "Pika?"

I nodded. "This has to be the top."

"Thank goodness," Sara breathed.

I put my hands up against the door and pushed with all my strength. It opened slowly and we all walked into the cave. We looked around, it was amazing!

"Look there..." I whispered, pointing ahead of us. Everyone looked straight ahead and gasped. In front of us, at the end of the huge cave, was a gigantic green snake-like Pokemon with white line-patterns all over its body and arms with three fingers and claws on the end. Its eyes were closed, and it was curled up, almost as if it was asleep.

"It snores?" Sara whispered and I listened, hearing the muffled sound of snoring. It _was_ asleep.

"This must be Rayquaza," Gary whispered with awe.

This was the same creature from my dream, the one that had the human on its back.

"I guess we have to wake it up somehow..." Brawly mumbled.

I took a deep breath and walked forward.

"Skye!" Sara hissed under her breath. "Be careful!"

I nodded and kept walking, taking delicate, cautious steps toward the huge sleeping Pokemon. My friends were nervous, Sparky stayed on my shoulder, determined not to leave my side. I walked forward, more and more, listening to my footsteps, until I stood ten meters away from its head.

I heard Sara whimpering behind me, she was obviously scared. I inhaled deeply and exhaled. "Rayquaza," I spoke clearly, loud enough to break the ghostly silence.

Everything was quiet for a few uncomfortable moments, I could almost swear that the others could hear my pounding heart. What if Rayquaza wouldn't wake up? He was over 50 years old after all...

And then, I heard the movement and I looked up at Rayquaza's head, its eyes flickered before opening slowly, its golden eyes shining, looking at me. Then it raised its head up high, it was so big!

"Who dares trespass here?" came the voice, but there was no one that sounded like that. It must have been Rayquaza, though his mouth didn't open once.

I took a deep breath, Sparky drew back, scared. "Rayquaza," I said in a loud voice. "We have come for a very important reason."

Its eyes flashed, looking back at my friends before looking back down at me. "What reason would that be?" I assumed it was a he by the voice...

I swallowed my fear. _He has to help us_, I thought. I chose my words wisely, taking my time to think about it. "Rayquaza, there has been many motives between two large groups of humans, known as Team Aqua, and Team Magma. They sought out the caverns of the two Legendary Pokemon, Kyogre and Groudon, the ones that you helped the great warrior, Skye, 50 years ago, to put into a deep slumber for all eternity to stop the world from being destroyed..."

Rayquaza stared at me, his eyes narrowing. "Continue," he demanded.

"Team Aqua found Kyogre, Team Magma found Groudon," I told him. "And both Legendaries have been awakened."

"That's impossible!" he hissed and I flinched.

"It is true," I declared, forcing myself to stand up straight. "Listen for yourself, can you hear the pounding rain?"

Rayquaza blinked at me, but then his eyes closed and everything was silent. Had he fallen asleep again?

In moments, his eyes opened again. "Yes, I can hear the rain, and the ferocious wind, and the thunder. Are you telling me that these two Legendaries have found each other already?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"And what reason do _you_ have for coming here?" there was a deep growl to his voice.

"The prophecy that was foretold 50 years ago has come true," I said.

"And the Chosen One hasn't appeared," he growled.

"You are wrong," I dared to say.

"What!?" his head lowered and stopped it when he reached my level, I could feel his warm breath as he exhaled in a gush, nearly blowing me off my feet, Sara gasped. "How dare you say that I am wrong?"

"Because the Chosen One has come," I told him, my courage not wavering one bit. "I stand here before you to declare that Kyogre and Groudon have been awakened and the world is in danger. No one else would have come but me. My name is Skye, and I am prepared to take my role in the prophecy that has been foretold for me."

Rayquaza looked at me. "I was expecting a male human, not a female."

"Gender makes no difference," I told him, our eyes meeting. "Because either way, the two Legendaries have to be stopped. And I have come here, all the way to Sky Pillar, to ask for your help to stop them."

Rayquaza rose to his full height. "No."

"What?"

"No. I will not help you."

My heart plummeted. "Why!?" I growled. "You have to help!"

"Why should I?" he challenged.

"You helped last time."

"That was 50 years ago," he growled back at me. "I have no care for what happens to this world, I am safe here in my home. No sea, nor land can reach me up here."

I looked up at him, disbelief taking over my whole body. "How can you just lie here, listening to the word being destroyed, and not doing anything about it!?"

"Easy, young child," he laughed. "You're on your own."

"Fine!" I growled and turned, walking back towards the exit.

"Skye, wait," Ash said as I walked past them. "We need Rayquaza!"

"Well it's obvious that he isn't going to help us!" I snapped. "The world is in danger, and we can't just sit here, wasting our time trying to convince a cowardly Pokemon to try and help us! He helped out once, but he's too scared now to even leave his home to do anything! We don't need him anyway!"

"But-"

"But nothing!" I growled. "If he won't help, then we'll have to stop Kyogre and Groudon by ourselves!"

"We can't do that!" Gary insisted. "We need Rayquaza! Without him, we have no chance!"

"I was chosen for this stupid prophecy!" I turned on him. "I never wanted any part in this! All I wanted was to be the best Pokemon trainer I could be! So much has happened and I refused to believe that it was me, no matter how much you guys thought differently! But it _is_ me that is in this prophecy, and it's my job to do something about it! I won't just sit around because Rayquaza won't help us and watch the world be destroyed! I won't die a coward! If I'm going to die, I'll die fighting!"

My friends looked at me, shock in their eyes. Surely I didn't shock them that much? What did Sparky do to make them so stunned?

"_I'm_ going to at least try," I turned and headed for the door again, Sparky still on my shoulder.

"Young child," I heard Rayquaza's voice and I turned around, looking up at him. "You are brave to take on such a responsibility, despite your arrogance against it. You reveal your fury to everyone, even your friends, but your heart is pure. I will help you on your quest."

My heart fluttered like a bird stuck in a tiny cage, and my spirits rose. "Really!?"

"Yes," he bowed his head. "It would be an honor. But first, let me explain everything, from the beginning."


	20. The Orbs

I walked closer to him and he looked down at me. "50 years ago, I roamed the sky, a free Pokemon like I always have been. Kyogre and Groudon roamed the earth, no human had the chance to get near them because they were such fierce Pokemon. Kyogre was he water, and Groudon was the ground. These two Pokemon crossed paths and, because of their differences, they started to fight. Water and Ground clashed together like nothing I had ever seen before, and the whole world seemed to suffer the chaos with the raging oceans, the earthquakes happening world-wide, the endless pelting rain and the ferocious winds causing hurricanes everywhere. I came up here, to Sky Pillar, to keep myself from such disaster, I knew that the worst would happen if the two of them were not stopped, but I had my doubts.

"One day, a human approached me, having climbed all the way to the top of Sky Pillar, he went by the name of Skye, and he claimed to be a Pokemon Trainer. He was distressed by the happenings of Kyogre and Groudon, and he wanted to do something about it. I laughed at him as he said he was going to try and stop them, even when he asked me for help. I never thought I would see a human as stupid as him, but when I refused to help him and he turned to leave, I asked him why he wanted to stop the two Pokemon. He turned back around and said to me, that fighting that way was not right. He said that Pokemon all over the world was being affected by this, even every region of the humans.

"Skye said that he would die trying to stop Kyogre and Groudon if that's what the turnout would be. I admired his courage and so I helped him, and then he pulled out two different orbs..."

"Orbs?" I echoed.

"Yes," Rayquaza nodded. "The Blue Orb and the Red Orb..."

"What were they?" I asked.

"They contained the spirits of the two Pokemon, the Blue Orb belonged to Kyogre, and the Red Orb, to Groudon." Rayquaza sighed. "Skye knew that with the two Orbs, he would be able to control their power and put both of the Pokemon in an eternal sleep, able to make the world safe again.

"I helped him, and he was right. His power was great, he was one of the most courageous humans of his time. He put the two Pokemon in the dormant sleep, with my help to control them, and he put the two Orbs in different locations, away from Kyogre and Groudon's sleeping chambers.

"He prophesized that one day, the two of them would be reawakened, and a human by the name of Skye would come to put them back to their eternal sleep," Rayquaza looked at me. "And if you say that you can stop them, then I will help you, just as I helped Skye."

I smiled and dipped my head. "Thank you, Rayquaza."

"Then, don't we need to get the Orbs?" Ash asked, stepping forward. "If we would have any hope at stopping them, wouldn't we need them?"

Rayquaza nodded. "Only in the hands of the true Chosen One, will the two Orbs shine brightly and unleash their power."

"Then where can we find them?" Sara asked, her fear drying up.

"Your friends are willing to help?" Rayquaza asked me.

"They are the most trusted friends in the world," I looked back at them, Brawly did not meet my eyes like the others and I turned back to the giant Legendary Pokemon. "Like me, they are willing to do anything to stop these two Pokemon."

"Very well," Rayquaza nodded. "I will tell you the location of the Orbs..."

We all looked up at Rayquaza, his head held up high, looking at a hole in the roof of the cave.

"The Red Orb is somewhere in Pacifidlog Town, you know where that is?"

"Yes," I nodded. "We passed it on our way here."

Rayquaza also nodded. "The Blue Orb is located in Littleroot Town."

My eyes widened.

"But, that's all the way back where Skye's journey started!" Sara exclaimed. "That's a few months' walk from here!"

"You do not need to walk," Rayquaza looked down at us once again. "I will carry you on my back, that will take a few hours."

"We need to get these Orbs quickly," I stated and turned. "Sara, Gary and Brawly, I need you three to go back to Pacifidlog Town and try to find the Red Orb. Ash and I will go with Rayquaza to retrieve the Blue Orb."

"Got it," Sara smiled.

"You can count on us," Gary added.

I looked at Brawly, his arms were crossed and he was looking in the other direction. "Brawly?"

He glanced at me. "What?"

"Please, this is important," I begged.

He snorted. "Why don't you just get Ash to do it. He is your partner, ain't he?"

My heart felt like it was being torn two ways and I finally cracked. Sparky jumped off my shoulder as I ran over to Brawly and hugged him, my face hidden in his shirt. He was shocked, his arms out. "Brawly, I'm sorry! I was confused, I didn't know what I was doing! It wasn't my fault! I'm sorry for hurting you! I really am! It was wrong, I know! But I'm really sorry, Brawly! Please, Brawly, if you won't do it for me, do it for the world..."

I stood there for a few long, traumatizing moments. "Brawly, I won't ask for anything else from you, just please help us..."

And then, I felt arms wrap around me and his chin leaned on my head. "I'll do anything for you, Skye. _I'm_ the one who's sorry. I'll make it up to you, I promise. We'll find that Orb and make sure that everything works out."

"Thank you," I smiled and he let me go. I took one step back and looked up at him.

His hand came up and found the necklace, holding it gently. "There's a reason I never asked for it back."

"Huh?" I looked down at the necklace and back up at him. "What reason would that be?"

"No matter what you chose, I always wanted you to remember me..."

"I would never forget you, Brawly. You're one of the greatest friends in the world."

He smiled back. "You should go, you need to get that Orb as soon as possible."

I nodded. "Once you guys get the Red Orb, meet us back at Camelot Castle so we can head off to wherever Kyogre and Groudon are fighting..."

"Got it," Gary murmured. "We'll meet you there."

"Good luck, you guys," I murmured.

"You too," Brawly replied and I watched him, Gary and Sara run out of the huge cave, beginning their descent down Sky Pillar.

"Come now," Rayquaza leaned down. "Climb on and we'll head for Littleroot Town."

I nodded and Sparky jumped up on my shoulder. Ash and I ran over to Rayquaza and climbed on, sitting behind his head, Ash sat beside me with Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Are you ready?" Rayquaza asked.

"Yes," I nodded.

"Hold on tight," he instructed and we did. Then he flew into the air and the tiny hole he had been looking at before, became bigger as he crashed through it, flying out into the stormy, rainy weather.

"Wow," Ash smiled as Pikachu clung to his shoulder. "It's so high up..."

"And it just gets higher," Rayquaza replied and suddenly, there was no more rain, no more wind, nothing close to blowing me off of Rayquaza's back. I stared in astonishment at the new world opening up in front of me. The sky was clear blue and the ground was gone, replaced with an everlasting layer of clouds. Everywhere I looked, I saw clouds, I could hear the thunder rumbling through them down below, and I could see the lightning flashing from them, but nothing rose up to hit us, no rain blew up with the wind to soak us, everything was too amazing to be real.

"This is impossible!" I exclaimed.

"What is?" Rayquaza asked.

"This!" I held my hands out, directing them at this new, strange world that I had never seen before. "It's so beautiful, so... so magical. It just can't be real!"

"It is," Rayquaza murmured. "This is the world I live in when I fly. Down below is for all the other Pokemon."

"It's still amazing..."

"Pika..." Sparky agreed.

"Pi, Pikachu," Pikachu nodded.

We flew for what seemed like hours, I didn't know exactly where we were, but Rayquaza seemed to know.

"Ready to go down?" he asked us.

"Yeah..." Ash nodded and he headed down. He went through the clouds like they were nothing, but they brushed against my skin, and it was _cold_!

We dove down and down, into the rainy, stormy, windy weather, the ground rose up to meet us. When we reached 1,000 feet from the ground, Rayquaza stopped in his dive and flew normally through the air.

"Do you see that?" he asked, pointing to the ground with one of his arms.

Ash and I looked down and I saw a little town with a Pokemon Center, a Pokemart and a few other houses. It was Oldale Town, where me and Ash first ran into each other...

"We're close to home," I smiled and looked over my shoulder at Ash, he smiled back and hugged me around the waist, his chin on my shoulder.

We flew for a bit longer and ahead, I saw my hometown, Littleroot Town.

"So, where are we going to find the Blue Orb?" Ash asked Rayquaza.

"I am not sure," Rayquaza answered. "You will need to ask around."

"We'll go see my mother first," I murmured. "She might know. If she doesn't, we should go find Professor Birch."

Ash nodded. "Good idea."

"Which house is yours?" Rayquaza asked. I looked down and saw a few houses, then I saw the one that I had grown up in and I pointed down. "That one, just below us."

Rayquaza dove down and before I knew it, he landed right next to my house, he was huge compared to the tiny house. In any case, I jumped off Rayquaza's back when he leaned down and Ash jumped down beside me.

"We'll only be a few minutes," I said to Rayquaza and I ran inside my house with Ash beside me, Pikachu on his shoulder and Sparky on my shoulder. I saw my mother in the kitchen and she looked up at me as we ran in. "Mum!"

"Skye?!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here in such weather!?"

"We need your help," I said. "Do you know anything about a Blue Orb located around this area?"

"A Blue Orb?" she was confused. "I've never heard of it. Why? What does it do?"

"You've seen the news?" Ash asked.

"Yes," she nodded. "Those two Pokemon..."

"Well, come outside," I sighed and turned, walking for the front door, Ash and my mother followed me out into the rain.

"Well?" Rayquaza asked as soon as he saw me, and then my mother walked out and saw him, her eyes widened with shock.

"My goodness!" she exclaimed and stepped back. "What Pokemon is that!?"

"This is Rayquaza," Ash smiled. "He's the Legendary Pokemon of the sky, the one that is meant to help the Chosen One in the prophecy."

My mother looked at me. "So you are..."

"Yes," I nodded. "I was the one chosen for this prophecy and I will fulfill it no matter what."

She smiled. "Well, I am sorry that I cannot be of assistance to you, I don't have a clue where this 'Blue Orb' is..."

I shrugged. "We'll just have to go to Professor Birch. Let's go."

"Stay here, Rayquaza," Ash called up through the howling rain. "We'll be back soon."

"Don't take too long," he replied and I led Ash over to Professor Birch's laboratory. We ran through the rain, already soaked and freezing. Pikachu and Sparky jumped to the ground and ran beside us.

I saw the lab up ahead and we ran inside. "Professor Birch!" I called as we ran in.

I saw him pop his head out from behind a giant bookshelf. "Skye? What brings you back to Littleroot Town? You haven't given up on your Pokemon Journey, have you?"

"No, of course not," I sighed. "But we need your help."

"With what?" he asked.

"We have to find an object called the Blue Orb," Ash said quickly. "We need to find it."

"Why?"

"Because it's find it, or let the world be destroyed," I growled. "Do you know where it is?" I was getting desperate, we _had_ to find it!

"I know of it, yes..." he nodded. "But it won't be easy getting it."

"Where is it?" Ash asked.

"The highest mountain that is just beside our town, it is at the peak on a statue, you must remove it from there," Professor Birch sighed.

"Okay," I nodded and looked at Ash. "Let's get moving."

Ash nodded and ran after me as I took off towards the door, Pikachu and Sparky close behind. We ran back to where Rayquaza was waiting for us and he looked at us.

"We know where it is," I called.

"Where is it?" he asked.

I turned and pointed to the top of the highest mountain beside Littleroot Town. "At the peak."

Rayquaza nodded. "Very well, I will take you up there. Climb on," he leaned his head down again. Pikachu and Sparky jumped on mine and Ash's shoulders and we climbed onto Rayquaza's neck. He pushed himself off the ground with his arms and we were flying into the air. He headed for the mountain and it got bigger and bigger as we approached it. When we reached it, Rayquaza headed up, flying parallel with the mountain.

It was then that I thought about Sara, Gary and Brawly. Did they find the Red Orb? Were they okay? What was happening where they were?

Suddenly, Rayquaza stopped flying and started to fall, but he quickly moved back into his straight position and hovered in the air.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"I cannot take you any further," Rayquaza answered. "There must be some sort of forcefield blocking me. You must attempt to climb this mountain yourself, I will wait for you to come back down."

He moved closer to the mountain and Ash and I grabbed hold of it, jumping from Rayquaza's back and holding onto the mountain. It wasn't too high to the peak, and it wasn't too steep, we were able to walk up the mountain at least without having to watch out for any sheer cliffs.

"We'll be back before you know it," I smiled to Rayquaza. "Thank you for taking us this far."

"Be careful," he nodded. "It will be dangerous."

We nodded and started heading up, running most of the way, but it was slippery from the rain. Rayquaza flew away from the mountain to fly freely in the air, waiting for our return.

Pikachu and Sparky jumped from our shoulders and ran beside us as we made our way up, up and up.

"How much further?" Ash asked, exhausted.

"I don't know," I sighed, looking up, the top was still a long way off.

Just then, I slipped on a loose rock and I started falling, but then Ash grabbed my hand and pulled me back up. I got a better footing on the mountain and he let my hand go.

"Thanks," I breathed.

"No worries," he sighed and we continued climbing.

It wasn't long before there was a cliff above us. Pikachu and Sparky jumped up on our shoulders and up onto the cliff. Ash and I grabbed hold of the cliff and pulled ourselves up.

The first thing I saw when we crawled to the top of the cliff was the huge area around us, and nothing else above us.

"Wow, look at that!" Ash exclaimed and I looked forward, seeing the huge statue, gray, solid and it took the shape of a Pokemon.

"It's Kyogre," I muttered. The statue was Kyogre, with the stone underneath it looking like water. Its hand/wings looked like it was holding something, and between them, was the Blue Orb, shining brightly.

"It's strange though..." Ash said as we stood up. "Why would Kyogre's Orb be here, on the top of a mountain, and Groudon's Orb is most likely somewhere out at sea...?"

"I don't know... Maybe because if anyone were to try and find them, it would be in the least likely place..." I replied. "The Blue Orb in a ground area, and the Red Orb in the watery area..."

"Either way, let's get that orb and go," Ash sighed. "I want this rain to stop already!"

"Me too," I agreed and we took a step forward.

"Not so fast!" we pulled to an immediate halt and looked up to see a hot-air balloon with three ropes hanging from the bottom of the basket. Jessie, James and Meowth slid down the ropes and stood in front of the statue.

"Stay back, twerps!" Jessie laughed. "This Orb is ours!"

"No way!" I growled. "We need that Orb to save the world!"

"But it is said to hold the spirit of Kyogre," Meowth smiled. "And with it, we could be able to control one of the most powerful Pokemon in the world!"

"But without the Red Orb," Ash pointed out. "No matter where you take Kyogre, Groudon will follow. They are natural enemies and neither of them will stop fighting until the other is destroyed. You won't be able to stop Groudon."

"Then we'll just have to steal the Red Orb from your friends," James smirked. "And then we'll have complete control!"

"Rayquaza will stop you!" I growled. "He won't let you capture them!"

"And neither will we!" Ash agreed. "Pikachu!"

Pikachu ran forward and stood in front of him.

I grabbed a Pokeball and threw it. "Absol! Let's go!"

Absol came out and stood in front of me, its fur bristling with fury.

Jessie and James threw their own Pokeballs.

"Seviper!" Jessie called.

"Cacnea!" James added.

Both Pokemon appeared and stood ready for battle.

"Alright then," Ash growled. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu nodded. "Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" electricity flew from its tiny body and went straight for Seviper and Cacnea. They were electrocuted and fell back.

"Absol, Razor Wind!" I ordered.

Absol gracefully swung its head and a white blade flew from it and headed for the two bewildered Pokemon.

"How dare you do that to our Pokemon!" Jessie growled. "Seviper-"

"Don't you see!?" I growled back at her. "Kyogre and Groudon have to be stopped! Even if you capture them, if you have both of them out at the same time, all they will do is fight and the world will be in chaos again!" It was either, I could talk them out of trying to steal the Blue Orb and the Red Orb, or we just fight them off. I didn't want my Pokemon to get hurt when I might need them later. "They have to be put back into their eternal sleeps so that the world won't suffer anymore!"

Team Rocket looked at me and laughed. "We don't care what happens to the world, twerp!" Meowth laughed. "It can suffer all it likes for all we care!"

Sparky growled.

"We just want those Pokemon for Giovanni," James sighed. "And we're going to capture them. The world can be destroyed, we don't care."

Sparky stepped forward and Absol looked down at it. "Ab?"

"Pika!" Sparky growled and Absol nodded, stepping back.

"Sparky?" I mumbled.

"Pika, Pi, Pikachu!" Sparky yelled at Team Rocket. "Pika-chu, Pi, Pika, Pikachu, Pika, Pi!"

"Translation?" Jessie and James looked at Meowth.

"It's saying: How can you talk like that? How can you just sit back and watch as everything falls apart," Meowth replied and Sparky went on. "All intelligent life will be destroyed, you will be fine, but the rest of us will die! How can you be _that_ cold-hearted that you will watch everything that you knew, die!? You grew up here, you caught your Pokemon here, you had some of your happiest moments here... Would you just sit back and watch your Pokemon die? Seviper and Cacnea, will you have no care when they pass away like the rest of us?"

"Cacnea and Seviper?" James looked at the two Pokemon, they were watching the scene, not sure what to do.

"Pika, Pi!" Sparky continued. "Pika-chu, Pika! Pika, Pi, Pikachu!"

"Well?" Jessie looked at Meowth.

"Sparky's asking why we're not trying to help the world, why we're just going to watch it crumble beneath our very feet..." Meowth sighed. "It's saying that Seviper and Cacnea wouldn't abandon you two, because they're your Pokemon and they are loyal. But the gutless act that you're showing now, shows no loyalty to your Pokemon. You are prepared to just give them up to capture two Legendary Pokemon that are never going to stop fighting, you are prepared to let them go for your petty ambitions. They have done everything you ever asked of them. They battled for you, they took beatings for you, they did everything you ever asked them to do! They would have done everything they could to protect you, and you're just going to abandon them!? For all they have done for you, you are _that_ heartless that you're going to abandon them. What kind of trainers do you call yourselves?"

"Why you..." Jessie growled. "How dare you talk to us like that!"

"Sparky's right," I agreed. "If you are not willing to protect your Pokemon, like they would do for you, then you have no right to call yourselves Pokemon Trainers. Pokemon are our friends, they're our best buddies and they're always by our side. How can you just give that up with the snap of a finger? Just walk away from your Pokemon when they need you the most? They would never do that to you, so how can you do that to them?"

Team Rocket blinked at me. "That's it!" Jessie growled. "Seviper, use Poison Tail!"

Seviper sighed and jumped up, coming at us with a purple-shining tail.

Before I could call Absol for an attack, I saw sparks coming from Sparky's cheeks. "Pika!" it growled loudly, and then more sparks were coming off its body.

I heard the rumbling of thunder and I looked up to see lightning striking down, all around the mountain top.

"What's happening!?" Ash exclaimed.

"I... I don't know," I replied.

Suddenly, lightning struck down from the clouds, seven different strikes, and they all hit Sparky from each direction.

"Sparky!" I called, but then I saw Sparky's face, it was angry...

"Pika..." Sparky growled again.

Jessie and James looked scared, Meowth was even worse.

"No way..." Meowth blinked. "How could a Pikachu learn an attack such as that!?"

"What attack!?" Ash asked.

"Lightning..." Meowth answered.

Before I could ask what it did, Sparky's body shook. "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" all the electricity surrounding Sparky flew off its body, aiming for Team Rocket. It hit directly and I heard them cry out as they were shocked. There was a massive explosion and they were all shot up into the hot-air balloon.

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sparky shot out another 'Lightning' attack and, with another explosion, Team Rocket were sent blasting off with their hot-air balloon and Pokemon.

"Wow..." I murmured as Sparky settled down and shook itself. "That was... amazing..."

Sparky ran towards the statue and looked at me. "Pika!" it pointed to the Orb.

"Oh! Right!" I ran over to it, Absol, Ash and Pikachu joined me.

"It's time we took it back down to Rayquaza," Ash smiled. "Take it."

I nodded and grabbed the Orb with both hands. I pulled at it, but it wouldn't budge.

_I didn't think it would be easy to pull out_ I thought and sighed. I pulled at it again, putting my feet up against the statue and pulling as hard as I could.

"Pika!" Sparky called encouraging me to keep going.

"You can do it," Ash murmured.

I growled as I kept trying, it was straining my arms. And then, it came out and I fell back, hitting the ground. I grasped the Orb in my hands and looked at it as I sat there. It began to shine so beautifully and the light moved around like water.

"Let's get going," Ash said as he helped me up. I nodded and put the Orb in my bag. I returned Absol with a grateful smile. We turned and ran down the mountain, running faster than we did when we were running up. Pikachu and Sparky ran ahead of us, making sure we had a safe passage down.

We must have passed the point where Rayquaza couldn't pass because I saw him flying back to us and flew beside us as we ran down the mountain.

"The Orb?" he asked.

I reached back into my bag and pulled it out, it was small enough to just fit into one of my hands. "I got it," I showed it to him, it was shining brightly.

He nodded. "Get on," he leaned closer to us.

I put the Orb back in my back. "Sparky!" I called and leaned down, holding my arm down. Sparky turned and ran up my arm to my shoulder and I jumped on Rayquaza's neck. Pikachu jumped up to Ash's shoulder and he jumped on behind me.

"Hold on tight," Rayquaza said and we did. He flew away from the mountain and headed back towards Camelot Castle where we would meet our friends and head off to Kyogre and Groudon's make-shift battle arena.

"Did you have any troubles up there?" Rayquaza asked. "I heard fighting."

"Oh, it was only Team Rocket," I sighed. "They've been following us around for ages trying to steal from us. Sparky sent them flying." _With a new attack_, I added silently.

"Very well," Rayquaza nodded and kept flying straight.

"I can't wait until this is over," Ash murmured. "Then this rain will stop."

I hear Rayquaza chuckle. "It will be worse where the two waring ones are."

"Great..." Ash smiled sarcastically before rolling his eyes. "Just perfect..."

"We'll stop it one way or the other," I smiled.

"Let's just hope the others found the Red Orb." Ash muttered.

"Yes, let's hope so," Rayquaza agreed.

It was a long trip back to Camelot Castle and we were tired, but we refused to fall asleep, we had to stay awake, we still had a lot to do and I wasn't delaying it any longer.

"Hey, there's the castle!" Ash called and pointed. I looked ahead and I saw the castle, we were finally there.

Rayquaza flew towards it and landed beside it, ignoring the shocked stares from the people in the houses around the castle.

Ash and I jumped off of Rayquaza's back and we saw Sara, Gary and Brawly run out from the castle doors, smiles on their faces.

"How did you go?" Gary asked us.

I took the Orb from my bag and showed them. "Pretty well."

"We had Team Rocket trouble though," Ash sighed. "But Sparky sent them off in no time."

"That's good," Sara smiled.

"So, what about you guys?" I asked. "Did you find the Red Orb?"

"Yeah," Brawly took it out of his bag and showed it to me. It was definitely red. "We had to go diving to get it."

"Wow..." he let me take it from him and it began to shine brightly and it looked like their was a tiny flame in the center of it, making it glow.

Then, Princess Anna walked out into the rain. "You found Rayquaza." She looked up at him and he looked back down at her.

He nodded. "They found me at Sky Pillar."

She nodded in return and looked back at us. "You must hurry and stop Kyogre and Groudon."

I nodded and put the two Orbs in my bag. "We have to do this quickly."

Rayquaza leaned down. "All of you, get on." We all climbed onto his back, me at the front, then Ash, then Gary, then Sara, then Brawly. Pikachu and Sparky were on mine and Ash's shoulders.

"Please be careful!" Anna called.

"We will!" Sara called back. "We'll stop Kyogre and Groudon, we promise!"

Rayquaza rose up into the air and we all hung on tight to stop from falling off.

"Rayquaza!" Sara called. "How do you know where they are?"

"I am not sure," he answered. "But my instincts are telling me to listen to them, so I am."

"Cool..." Sara smiled.

I took a deep breath. _When we get there, I have to be the one to stop them... I have to_... I thought. _I'm the Chosen One_...

Everything flew through my head at that point, all the protests I had against this prophecy...

"_But, maybe it's you, Skye," Mr. Briney smiled._

"_Or maybe not," I looked back at him._

"_Skye? What was that all about?" Ash asked. "That was a bit rude."_

"_I just don't want him to start thinking I have to save the world because I'm the so-called 'Chosen One'. I'm not and that's it," I replied simply._

"_I would give my life to save someone!" I continued quietly. "I'd do it again if I had to."_

_My mother nodded. "Just as I thought. That's why I named you Skye."_

_I tilted my head. "Why?"_

"_Because of a prophecy that was foretold 50 years ago," my mother smiled._

"_The one about Kyogre and Groudon?" I asked._

_My mother nodded. "I saw strength in you the day you were born. I told you how your father was a brave man and that he always wanted a girl named Skye. That's why."_

"_Enough with that stupid prophecy!" I growled. "It's got nothing to do with me. I want nothing to do with it. Stop talking about it and thinking it is me, it's not!"_

"_I am NOT the one in the damn prophecy! How many times do I have to say it!? I'M NOT THE ONE YOU'RE LOOKING FOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS STUPID PROPHECY AND IT'S NOT EVEN ME! YOU HAVE THE WRONG PERSON SO BACK OFF AND LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"_

_Prophecy this, prophecy that_, I thought. _I kept saying it wasn't me and it annoyed me so much that I got mad just thinking about it_.

"_No! If you want to awaken Kyogre and use it to destroy the world, I warn you: I will not let you. If you insist on trying, I will stand in your way. I will wait to see what your motives are, and if I have to, I will protect the whole world against Team Aqua. I won't let you destroy this world, I will fight to protect it, no matter what the cost!"_

I had said that to the Team Aqua guy that was fighting us to try and get me and Sara's Riolu. At one stage, I might have believed that I could have been the Chosen One, but whenever someone mentioned it, I went against it.

_I never wanted to be a hero_, I thought. _I just wanted to be me. I didn't want the burden of having to save the world, to let it all rest on my shoulders if I was to fail. Why me, though? Why did it have to be me that had to save the world? Surely someone else with more experience as a Pokemon Trainer would have been a better choice? Why choose someone with no experience? Why me_?


	21. Heroes are made when you make a choice

"Skye?"

I looked over my shoulder at Ash. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I smiled. "Just nervous. This will be dangerous..."

He nodded. "Everything will end well. I know it."

"Thanks," I turned my head and looked straight ahead, blinking the heavy rain from my eyes. My body shivered, I wasn't sure if it was from the freezing cold rain or the foreboding prophecy that was about to become true.

Rayquaza flew for quite a long time and the weather was only getting worse.

"There they are," Rayquaza said and we all looked ahead, it was as bad as my nightmares; Kyogre was in the sea, and Groudon was standing on the land with a huge trail of earth leading all the way back to wherever its sleeping chamber must have been to get this far out to sea.

Kyogre made a tidal wave and it came crashing towards Groudon, but the Ground Type Pokemon made more earth and made it rise up to block the attack, then it all broke up and floated on the water. They fought with such power that fear rose up in my gut. This was scarier than my dreams, this was more real than anything I had ever thought possible.

These two Pokemon, such bitter enemies, such differences between them, such power and ferocity... And I had to stop them.

Rayquaza landed one a huge bit of earth that I guessed should have been there before this battle and we all jumped off.

"Do you see how powerful these Pokemon are now?" Rayquaza asked us.

"I never expected it to look this bad..." Sara murmured.

"Because of these two Pokemon, this world will be destroyed and they will not stop fighting until the other is annihilated," Rayquaza looked at me. "The time has come for you to stop them."

I heard him, but my eyes were trained on the two waring ones, shooting attacks at each other, taking no notice of us at all. "I don't think I can..." I whispered.

"Skye, you have to," Sara sounded encouraging, but she was scared too. "Only you can stop them."

I looked at my friends, to Rayquaza, back to Kyogre and Groudon and back to my friends. "Training Pokemon is tough enough, but saving the world is way too hard..."

"I know it doesn't look easy, Skye," Gary tried to smile. "But there's no way around it..."

"But... what if I mess up?" my head hung and I felt tears forming in my eyes, they fell seconds later. "What if I can't do it? What if, I..."

"You can do it," Sara murmured. "We know you can..."

"The choice is yours," Rayquaza. "You must go where your heart decides."

I lifted my head, taking the two Orbs out of my bag and holding them in my hands, the Blue Orb in my left, and the Red Orb in my right, both of them shone magically, beautifully.

"Pika, Pikachu," Pikachu called from Ash's shoulder.

"Pika," Sparky nodded, looking at me.

"You need to be the hero," Brawly murmured, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"But I never wanted to be the hero to begin with," I looked at him. "I just wanted to be... me... Not a hero."

"Heroes are made when you make a choice," Brawly smiled. "You've come this far, you can't quit now. The world is depending on you."

I closed my eyes. Everything that I had been through, all the training, all the Gym battles, all the issues over Ash and Brawly, I thought all that was tough. But this was far more difficult, and there was nobody else that could do this, it had to be me.

My mind was clear then and I thought of all the people I cared about.

_Sara... Ash... Brawly... Gary... Paul... Flannery... Mum... Jake... Pikachu... Sparky... And all my Pokemon_, I thought. _If I can't stop these Pokemon, then I will never see them again... I can't lose them..._

I nodded and my eyes opened. "Okay, I'll do it."

Everyone smiled and I looked at Brawly, my hand came up and I held the necklace that he gave me.

"Thank you, Brawly," I smiled.

"Good luck," Brawly replied and I hugged him, he hugged me in return. "Be careful."

"I will," he let me go and I hugged each of my friends.

Sara threw her arms around me, tears coming down her cheeks. "You can do this," she whispered. "I know you can."

"I know," I nodded and I hugged Ash last.

"You always have been a hero," Ash smiled. "Right from the very beginning."

"Huh?" for a second I was confused, until Pikachu put its paw up and I remembered; I saved Pikachu from Team Rocket...

"_Heroes are made when you make a choice_," Brawly's voice echoed in my mind.

Ash let me go and I stepped back, putting the two Orbs back in my bag. "You guys be careful down here," I looked at each of them.

"Same goes for you," Gary said. "Good luck."

I nodded and Rayquaza put his head down. I climbed on with Sparky on my shoulder. I looked at my Pokemon. "Thank you, my friend," I smiled. Sparky licked my cheek with a smile on its face.

Sparky had been with me from the very beginning, it was one of the best friends I ever had. I needed Sparky to be with me now, I couldn't bare to be without Sparky for this.

"Are you ready?" Rayquaza asked me.

I looked up and saw the helicopter, no doubt they were recording all this. I nodded. "Let's go."

Rayquaza jumped up and flew into the air, his long, snake-like body trailing behind him. He flew higher and higher until we flew above the clouds into the calm world of the sky.

"Why are we so high up?" I asked. "Shouldn't we be down there?"

"This will be better," Rayquaza answered and I didn't question him more.

He flew for a little bit longer and I was still a little bit scared. Could I really do this?

"Pika!" Sparky lightly tapped my cheek. "Pikachu! Pika-chu, Pika, Pi! Pika, Pikachu!"

"Your friend is right," Rayquaza said.

"What did Sparky say?" I asked.

"It said not to doubt yourself because you _can_ do this," Rayquaza answered. "Everyone believes that you can. But as long as you doubt yourself, you won't be able to."

"But I can do this..." I murmured.

"Pika, Pi, Pikachu!"

"Then keep believing that," Rayquaza translated. "Even the Legendary Warrior, Skye, doubted himself. But because he knew he was the only one that could stop this destruction, he had to, and so he would, and he did."

I blinked, Skye had doubted himself.

"You don't have to think of yourself as the hero," Rayquaza went on. "You just need to think of yourself as what you are; a Pokemon Trainer."

Just then, I knew that I could do this without another doubt. I was a Pokemon Trainer, and this is exactly what a Pokemon Trainer would do to save their world, to protect the ones they love, all the Pokemon and people in the world, and to protect the Pokemon that have done everything they possibly could for their trainer. A Pokemon Trainer would protect everything if that's what they had to do, and that's what I had to do; protect the ones I loved, my friends, my Pokemon, and everything in this world.

"Are you ready now?" Rayquaza asked me.

"Yes, I am definitely ready now," my voice was stronger.

"Hold on," he told me and I held on tighter, Sparky clung to my shoulder. He dove down and the wind crashed against us as he broke through the clouds.

But instead of more wind and rain, the clouds separated from where Rayquaza had broken through, and sunlight streamed down, making Kyogre and Groudon look up.

Suddenly, attacks were shot up at us from the two Legendaries. I panicked, Sparky's attacks wouldn't do anything to those attacks!

But instead of them hitting us, I saw Rayquaza open his mouth, a golden sphere forming in front of his mouth. In one short second, he let out the biggest Hyper Beam I have ever seen, bigger than Gyarados's! It hit both the water and earth attacks and they were sent crumbling back down to Kyogre and Groudon.

Both of the two Pokemon went back to fighting, Groudon was throwing rocks that it made out of earth and I saw Kyogre raise a huge tidal wave, about 200ft tall!

Both Pokemon seemed to ignore us completely, and then I saw shock waves in the water and Kyogre was affected.

"What was that!?" I exclaimed as Rayquaza continued to dive down.

"That was Groudon's Earthquake attack," he replied. "It would have shook the entire Earth."

I took a deep breath. "Tell me when to pull out the Orbs."

Rayquaza nodded and we continued our descent in the bright sunlight that was streaming down. I was glad the rain had stopped, and no more fierce winds were blowing.

"Okay," Rayquaza said. "It is time."

I nodded and took the two Orbs out of my bag. I held them in both hands, the Blue Orb in my left and the Red Orb in my right. Both of them began to shine brightly and I thought about stopping Kyogre and Groudon.

"Skye, you must use the power of the Orbs now!" Rayquaza murmured.

"Yeah, but how?" I asked and Rayquaza gasped.

"I thought you knew!"

"No. I thought you did!"

"All I know is that Skye used them in his time, he was able to use their powers to stop them. I never knew how he did it!"

"Well then how am I supposed to know!?"

Suddenly, a huge blast of water hit us, followed closely by a huge boulder. It hit Rayquaza directly and I felt his body shake.

More boulders flew up and Rayquaza tried to dodge them as best he could, that is, until a huge mountain of water came up and grabbed him. The water twisted around him and pulled him down. I began to fall from his neck and the last thing I saw was his tail swinging and hitting me away.

I landed in the water with Sparky, quickly putting the Orbs back in my bag. Sparky swam over to me and I grabbed my Pokemon. I looked up and saw the sunlight fading as the clouds covered it again and the rain began pouring down, harder than ever, and the ferocious winds returned, making the water more deadly than it already was.

Sparky grabbed onto my shoulder as I tried swimming, but every direction I turned there was a wave that pushed me back. I got pushed and pulled and my strength was draining. But what had happened to Rayquaza!?

I looked up as best as I could, seeing Kyogre and Groudon battling, but they weren't battling each other... They were battling the injured Rayquaza!

"No!" I cried out but water got into my mouth and I choked on it. How could I stop them from hurting Rayquaza? I couldn't do anything!

I felt weak, defenseless, pathetic. I said I could do this, stop Kyogre and Groudon, but I wasn't able to control the power of the Orbs, and as a result of that, Rayquaza was getting seriously hurt!

I suddenly crashed against something and I looked up at a bit of land. Sparky jumped up and I pulled myself up, breathing hard, sitting on my legs for a few moments to catch my breath and regain my lost strength.

I heard a mighty roar and I looked up to see Groudon and Kyogre still attacking Rayquaza, the Legendary Flying Pokemon getting hurt with each strike.

The whole ground shook and I tried my hardest not to fall back into the water. I looked at the land, it was a straight path leading to the three Legendaries. If I could run over there and do something...

"Skye, get away from here!" Rayquaza called out to me. "This battle is lost! You can't stop these two! You must get away, get as far away from here as you can!"

My eyes widened as I looked at Rayquaza, his body all damaged from each blow. I dragged him into this. I asked him for his help, I called him a coward, I called him weak. But what he was showing now was no cowardice, no weakness... Rayquaza had tried his very best to help us protect the world.

It was then that my own voice echoed in my mind, from the first time that I ever read the prophecy at Mr. Briney's little seashore house with Sara and Ash.

"_Evil-Doers will awaken the two Legendary Pokemon, the one from the land, and the one from the sea. Kyogre and Groudon will come in conflict, and the fighting will last eternally. The world will suffer the chaos, and everything will die. But there is only one hope, and so the world must turn to Skye. The Chosen One alone will not be enough to quell the fighting, meaning the help of the Legendary Flying Pokemon must be obtained, to restore peace and rescue the world from its demise_..."

"Can these Pokemon possibly be stopped?" I asked, not particularly expecting a reply. I took the two Orbs out of my hands and looked at them glow so wonderfully, so how come I wasn't able to use them to stop all this?

"Skye, go now!" Rayquaza called and I looked up to him. "It's too dangerous for you to stay here any longer!" Suddenly, I saw his eyes narrow and he joined the fight, attacking both of the two Legendary Pokemon.

"Rayquaza!" I called but I got no reply. "RAYQUAZA!" I tried screaming, but it was like he never heard me. Could he have possibly have been taken over by his instincts?

The three of them were fighting, all of them against each other. Water, Ground and Flying, three completely different Pokemon. One from the land, one from the sea, and one from the sky.

"Pika!" Sparky called, but there was still no reply from Rayquaza.

I watched the three of them fighting so brutally that it was hard to watch at all. _They hate each other so much... They are willing to fight until the very end_, I thought. _And the end would be one of them sending the other two to their complete destruction_!

My hands tightened on the Orbs as I held them by my sides, and tears came down my cheeks. Sparky looked up at me as I hung my head. What had gone wrong!? Why wasn't I able to use the Orbs!? Why was Rayquaza suddenly a brutal, ferocious Pokemon that was willing to destroy the other two Legendaries!?

I couldn't watch it anymore. I took one step forward and I was running straight towards the battle of the huge Pokemon. Sparky ran beside me, its eyes blazed with something unknown.

"STOP!" I screamed as loud as I could as I raced across to them. "STOP FIGHTING!"

"Skye!" I heard the voices of my friends not too far off.

I ran with my hands clenched over the Orbs, tears streaming down my face. "I CAN'T WATCH YOU DESTROY EACH OTHER!" I screamed and the Orbs shone more brightly than anything else. I wasn't going to stand there and watch the three of them destroy one another! I wasn't going to stand there and watch the world crumble beneath my feet! I wasn't just going to stand there while there was something I could do about it!!!!!

I reached the gigantic Legendary Pokemon. "STOP IT!" I screamed again and there was a huge explosion of light. I stopped running and looked up, light was everywhere, blowing the wind and rain away from me. I threw my hands in front of me, the Orbs in my hands. "NO MORE FIGHTING!!!!!" the light grew brighter and I was suddenly unable to see Kyogre or Groudon or Rayquaza.

The rain eased off though, and the wind was gone. I looked up and saw that all the clouds were disappearing, just... disappearing... Sunlight streamed down to the earth below, where it had never touched for days on end. I looked around for the three Legendary Pokemon, but all I saw was smoke from where they had been, smoke or light.

I stared at it for a while and I was convinced it was light, they were surrounded by a huge ball of light and I couldn't see them.

"Skye!" I turned around and saw my friends pull themselves out of the water that was finally calm once more. Ash was the first one to hug me.

"You did it!" Ash smiled. "You actually did it!"

Sara pushed Ash away and hugged me so tightly that I thought I would choke to death right there and then. "You scared me half to death!" she cried.

"You're _choking_ _me_ half to death!" I managed a growl.

Sparky jumped up on my shoulder after Sara backed away and I turned to see them. Kyogre was in the water, its eyes shone with a new emotion besides hatred, more like understanding, and Groudon was exactly the same. Rayquaza hovered in the air, his eyes bright.

Kyogre suddenly turned around and started swimming away, going under the water and disappearing. Groudon turned around and started walking towards us. I looked up at the huge Ground Type Pokemon as it walked right past us and headed back to the land it first came from.

"Skye..." I looked up at Rayquaza. "You have done well, young warrior. It is because of you that the world is safe again."

"But where are they going?" I asked.

"Back to their sleeping chambers," Rayquaza replied. "They will stay there and sleep peacefully. But there is a catch."

"What catch?" Brawly asked.

"The two Orbs must stay together in Hoenn and they must not separate, or else the two will awaken and begin this all over again."

"But I can't keep them with me," I mumbled. "After I enter the Pokemon League, I'm heading to another region..."

"Well they can't leave this region," Rayquaza told me.

"I know the perfect place," Ash smiled.

I looked at him. "Where?"

* * *

"So, the two Orbs have to stay together," I explained. "Can you keep them here and look after them?"

We were back at Camelot Castle with Princess Anna. She was pleased that Kyogre and Groudon had been stopped. "Of course I will look after them," she bowed her head. "They will be the treasures of our kingdom."

"Thank you," Gary breathed.

I smiled. "We have to go now. We have to get to Fortree City."

"Good luck in your travels," Anna smiled and we bowed our heads.

"Thank you," Sara murmured and we turned to leave, waving our goodbyes as we left the castle.

We met Rayquaza outside, he was waiting for us. "Well?" he asked.

"She accepted them," I nodded.

"That is good," he nodded in return. "But I must go now. There is nothing left for me to do here."

"Yeah, you go catch up on some sleep, big guy," Brawly laughed.

Rayquaza laughed quietly. "Goodbye to all of you."

"Rayquaza!" I called and before he flew off, he looked down at me.

"Yes?"

"Thank you, for everything that you've done for us," I sighed. "You did more than just help us get the Orbs and get us to our destination. You took me straight to them, ready to help me as I tried to stop them. I'm only sorry that you got hurt."

Rayquaza smiled. "It was nothing. It was a pleasure to help you all." He looked at me. "Not even Skye could have done a better job than you. He was a brave warrior, but you put your life in jeopardy to stop them. You have proved yourself an excellent Pokemon Trainer, and you have done well to accomplish your task with the prophecy. The world couldn't have asked for a better hero."

"Thank you, Rayquaza," I smiled back. "We won't forget you."

"Nor I you," he nodded. "Your journeys aren't over yet, you still have a long way to go. Good luck and goodbye."

We watched as he flew up into the air. "Goodbye, Rayquaza!" we called.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu and Sparky waved.

We watched the Legendary Flying Pokemon fly high into the sky, heading back to Sky Pillar.

"Well, we'd better get going," Sara smiled. "So let's go! I'll race ya's!" In seconds, she was running off, already heading for Fortree City.

"Hey! Wait up!" Gary called and we all ran after her.

That night, as we all sat around our little campfire in the woods, we talked about what had happened and how great it was.

"You're a hero now," Brawly smiled at me.

"I'm not a hero," I shook my head. "I'm a Pokemon Trainer..."

_But still_, I thought. _That was one of the hardest, most challenging things I had ever done before. I saved the whole word, stopping Kyogre and Groudon. I guess I am kind of like a hero. But I'm still just a Pokemon Trainer_... I looked at Sparky and my little electric Pokemon jumped up on my shoulder.

"You've come a long way, that's for sure," Sara murmured. "From an amateur to a near-to-Pokemon Master within a year."

"And that's definitely something to be proud of," Gary agreed.

"Well with all my Pokemon on my team, I'll be a complete Pokemon Master in no time," I smiled. "I'm going to beat Winona and then my brother, and then anybody else that's a Gym Leader until I reach the Pokemon League!"

"Now that's the motivation you need!" Ash nodded. "But as soon as we get to Fortree City, you should call your mother. She'd be really worried about you."

I nodded back. "That's a good idea."

"We should catch up on some sleep though," Sara yawned and stretched. "I'm exhausted!"

We all agreed and we crawled into our sleeping bags. Sparky curled up beside my head and we all fell asleep quickly, but it was harder for me. _I'm a hero_, I smiled at the thought. _I saved the world_... Soon enough, sleep took over me and I was lost in my dreams, replaying the prophecy over and over again in my mind. Now I was actually glad that I was the one in the prophecy, because I had experienced something that no other trainer probably would; the experience of real pressure, the weight of the world on your shoulders. Everything I went through was definitely worth it, and I was glad.

* * *

"Skye, get up!"

"But I don't want to," I mumbled, not opening my eyes.

"Come on! We have to get going!" Gary sighed.

"I'm tired..."

"So are we," Brawly chuckled. "But just because you're a hero now doesn't mean you can slack off."

"Go away," I muttered.

"Ash?" I heard Brawly murmured.

"Go ahead, Brawly," Ash replied with a hint of amusement in his voice.

The next thing I knew, arms wrapped around me and I was lifted off the ground. I opened my eyes and looked up at Brawly, I was curled up with him holding me in his arms. Then I looked down at the ground. I yelped and my arms came up, wrapping around Brawly's neck.

Everyone laughed and I glared at all of them, lastly at Brawly. "Don't do that again!" I growled.

"Come on," he laughed. "You have to admit, it was pretty funny."

"It was not!" I grumbled and let him go, jumping out of his arms. Sparky jumped up on my shoulder, a smile on its face.

"It's about time you got up," Sara smirked. "We were just about to leave you here."

"You wouldn't!" I shot back.

"Would to!" Sara grinned.

"Ash and Brawly wouldn't leave me!" I poked my tongue out.

"Well me and Gary would!" Sara copied me.

"I would?" Gary blinked.

"Yes, you would," Sara smiled.

I sighed. "Let's just get going."

We packed up and headed off towards Fortree City, we still had a day or two left to go.

At midday, we stopped to have lunch, Gary made everybody sandwiches and gave the Pokemon some special Pokemon Food.

"This is great," I smiled, eating a salad sandwich. "Did Brock teach you how to make such great food?"

"At one stage, yeah," Gary nodded with a smile.

Sara looked up into the sky. "It's such a nice day. It's hard to believe that yesterday it was pouring down rain endlessly."

"Well Skye put an end to that," Ash pointed out.

"Yeah," Sara murmured. "But to be honest, I hope it never rains again, it was horrible!"

We all nodded our agreement and when I was finished eating, I decided to play with the Pokemon, Gyarados sat out.

Mightyena and Absol bowled me over, and then Pikachu, Sparky, Buneary and Pachirisu were all over me, tickling me.

"Somebody help me!" I managed to cry out through laughing.

"You got yourself into it," Ash laughed.

"So you can get yourself out," Brawly added.

I growled. "Buizel, use Water Gun!"

Buizel turned to Brawly and Ash. Gary and Sara managed to run out of the way just as Buizel shot a Water Gun attack at the two boys that refused to help me. Ash and Brawly were soaked.

"That's not fair!" Ash called.

"Is too!" I laughed as Pikachu tickled my stomach.

Suddenly, whilst watching my feeble attempts to free myself, Gyarados tensed up and growled. Everyone stopped and looked where Gyarados was growling.

"What's the matter, Gyarados?" I asked.

There was a rustle in the bushes, but nothing came out, Gyarados growled even more. Mightyena took a sniff and growled as well, even the other Pokemon were tense and alert.

"This is getting creepy," Sara murmured.

"Who's there?" Brawly demanded, pointing his question to the rustling bushes.

Nobody answered and it was just getting creepier and creepier.

Ash stepped closer to me, Sara was already at Gary's side, nervous.

"This is ridiculous!" Gary growled. "Show yourself, whoever you are!"

Still, there was no answer, all there was was the gentle breeze that swiftly blew a little stronger over the wide green field we were in and rustling the trees of the forest in front of us.

"I've had enough of this!" I growled. "Gyarados, Hyper Beam!"

A golden sphere appeared in front of Gyarados's mouth and it became a huge golden beam as it shot down towards the place where whatever it was, was hiding.

Something shot out of the bushes right before the moment of impact and the _thing_ avoided getting hit by Gyarados's Hyper Beam.

"What was that for!?" I blinked as the _thing_ tripped over and landed on his face. It was a boy with brown scruffy hair wearing dark blue jeans and a baggy white shirt with a chain necklace.

"What do you think!?" I growled. "We told you to come out twice! You scared us!"

"Obviously not you," the boy shot at me. "You're the one that attacked me!"

Gyarados growled and the boy flinched and jumped to his feet.

"Who are you?" Ash asked.

"The name's Bradly," the boy smiled. "And I've been watching you."

"We can see that!" Sara snapped but Gary grabbed her before she could storm over to him.

"Why?" Brawly asked.

"I saw the news," he looked at me. "You saved the world."

"We all did our part," I inclined my head towards my friends. "But why do you care?"

He held up a Pokeball. "I want to battle you, to test your abilities as a Pokemon Trainer."

"So you think you'd do a better job than me?" I turned back to him.

"I want to see if you're a great trainer," he smiled. "Because you looked so clueless on T.V. when you had to save the world."

I growled. "I'll show you!" My friends and I returned all our Pokemon and Sparky sat on my shoulder.

"So, are we going to battle?" Bradly asked.

"You bet!" I answered.

"You'll beat this little kid for sure," Sara smiled at me. But just by looking at him, I knew he was around the same age as me.

"I know I will," I smiled back.

"Linoone, let's go!" Bradly threw a Pokeball and a Linoone came out, it was long-bodied, brown with white stripes and a long furry tail.

"I choose Sparky," I smiled.

Brawly stood in between us, but to the side so he didn't get caught in the battle, he would be the ref. "Start the battle."

"Let's show this guy what we're made of," I looked at Sparky on my shoulder and pointed towards Linoone. "Use Thunderbolt!"

Sparky nodded and ran down my arm, jumping into the air. "Pika-CHUUUUUUUU!!!!!!" it cried and electricity flew from its body, flying towards Linoone.

"Linoone, dodge it!" Bradly called and the four-legged Pokemon jumped swiftly out of the way.

"It's fast," Sara commented.

"But so is Sparky," Ash replied.

"Too true," Sara nodded her agreement.

"Sparky, Quick Attack!" I called as Sparky landed on the ground.

Sparky ran towards Linoone with a white light shining behind it.

"Dodge and use Headbutt!" Bradly called to his Pokemon.

Linoone jumped out of the way again and came back at Sparky, headbutting it and sending Sparky flying.

I growled. "Sparky, Iron Tail!"

Sparky came back down, its tail shining white. Sparky came down at Linoone and the bigger Pokemon made no move to dodge the attack.

"Headbutt again!" Bradly ordered.

Linoone jumped up and its head collided with Sparky's tail. "Pika!" Sparky growled at the other Pokemon and they both jumped away, breathing hard.

Sparky stood in front of me, Linoone stood in front of Bradly, both facing one another.

I pulled out my Pokedex and pointed it at Linoone. "Linoone," it said. "The Rush Pokemon. Linoone can run in a straight line, running at 60 kilometers per hour but must come to a complete stop before changing direction."

"Linoone is too fast for your Pikachu," Bradly smirked. "I knew I could beat you."

"This battle is far from over," I replied with a smile. "We can win this. Sparky, use Quick Attack!"

Sparky ran at Linoone, but the Pokemon jumped out of the way.

"That's not going to work," I muttered to myself. Then an idea clicked; if Linoone could only run fast in a straight line and had to stop completely to turn, then it obviously didn't know a move that Sparky could catch it with. "Sparky, use Agility!"

Sparky looked at me, the same little smile on its face as I had, and it turned back to Linoone, running as fast as it could, running rings around the brown-and-white Pokemon.

Linoone turned its head, trying to keep up with Sparky's speed.

"Linoone, Double Team!" Bradly called and my eyes widened when I saw that Linoone now had more than one of itself.

Sparky stopped running and looked at all the Linoone.

"Sparky, try a Thunderbolt to get rid of them all!" I suggested.

Sparky nodded and jumped into the air. "Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!" Electricity flew from its little yellow body and hit all the Linoone. They all disappeared and I saw the real Linoone being shocked by Sparky's attack.

"Yeah, that's the way to do it!" I called. "Now use Iron Tail!"

Sparky came down at Linoone, its tail shining white.

"Linoone, get out of the way!" Bradly called but Linoone was recovering from the Electric attack.

Linoone cried out when Sparky's tail hit it. Sparky jumped back and stood in front of me again.

Bradly growled. "Linoone, use Scratch!"

Linoone raced towards Sparky and hit, raking its claws over Sparky.

"Pika!" Sparky cried and fell back.

"Scratch, again!" Bradly yelled.

"That does it!" I murmured. "Sparky, here it comes again, dodge it!"

Sparky jumped out of the way, swaying on its paws.

"Alright, Sparky," I looked at Bradly before looking back to my Pokemon, Sparky was looking up at me, its eyes shining. "How about a little Lightning?"

Sparky brightened up and its eyes shone even brighter.

"Lightning?" Gary echoed.

"Sparky learned it yesterday," Ash murmured, half to himself. "When Skye and me got rid of Team Rocket trying to get the Blue Orb."

"But, I've never heard of an attack like Lightning," Sara muttered. "How powerful is it?"

"You'll just have to wait and see," Ash smiled.

Pikachu stood its ground as Linoone came running towards it. "Pika..." it came closer and closer, Sparky curled its body up. "CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!" it cried and electricity flew from its body, but even brighter than before. The electricity tore across the ground towards Linoone.

"Linoone, dodge it!" Bradly commanded.

"Sorry, Bradly," I smiled. "But a Linoone has to come to a complete stop before it can change direction."

Bradly looked at me with shock in his eyes and I saw the Lightning attack tearing up the ground. Linoone skidded to a stop to jump out of the way, but it was too late. It was hit with the Electric attack and was electrocuted.

"Linoone!" it cried out and fell to the ground, struggling to get up.

"Finish up, Sparky," I smiled. "Iron Tail!"

Sparky ran towards Linoone, its tail shining white. It jumped a foot above the ground and spun. Its tail hit Linoone and the brown-and-white Pokemon was thrown away across to Bradly, it didn't get up.

"That's it," Brawly called. "Sparky wins!"

"Yeah!" I smiled and Sparky jumped into my open arms and I hugged it. "You did great, Sparky!"

"Pi, Pikachu!" Sparky smiled back.

"Linoone, return," I looked up and saw Bradly, he looked really upset.

"Hey, cheer up," I said.

"Even though I raised Linoone from a Zigzagoon, I still can't seem to win against any strong trainers," he murmured sadly.

"It's nothing to get upset over," Ash told him as he walked over to us.

"Yeah, the fact that your Pokemon evolved just proves how great a trainer you are," Gary added.

"How many other Pokemon do you have?" Sara asked.

"Two more," Bradly shrugged. "A Grovyle and a Tropius."

"Did your Grovyle evolve from a Treeko when you raised it?" Brawly asked.

"No," Bradly shook its head. "It was just luck that I caught Grovyle, and Tropius... I'm a no-good trainer at catching and battling with Pokemon."

"That's not something you should say," I sighed. "You remember my Gyarados, right?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Well, I caught it when it was just a Gyarados," I smiled. "It didn't want to do a thing I asked, but now, after a few twists and turns, it does anything I ask it, and it's one of the greatest Pokemon around."

"Yeah, but you're the Chosen One, you saved the world. Of course you're skilled at training Pokemon. I've been terrible since the beginning."

"I was too," I murmured. "I was a terrible trainer. I wanted nothing to do with the prophecy and the whole 'Chosen One' business. But _because_ I've trained hard with my Pokemon, I'm a pretty decent trainer."

"Pretty is an understatement," Ash smiled and put an arm over my shoulders.

"That's not what I meant, idiot," I rolled my eyes and shook my head with a smile.

"But it's true."

"Not really," I looked back at Bradly. "But the thing is, you just need to work hard. You just need to train, to bond with your Pokemon and keep trying."

"Yeah," Sara nodded. "You can't give up because you've lost a couple of times. A truly great trainer never gives up and keeps coming back to try again."

"They're right," Brawly nodded. "When I began as a trainer, at Rustboro City I challenged Roxanne to a gym battle, I lost to her more than five times trying to get a Stone Badge."

"Yeah, so the most important thing is, that you don't give up," Ash smiled.

Bradly seemed unconvinced.

"Linoone!" I heard Bradly's Pokemon cry and I looked up to see it in a net, hanging below the basket of a hot-air balloon.

"No!" Sara growled.

"Listen, is that a voice I hear?" Jessie smiled.

"It's speaking to me, loud and clear," James added.

"On the wind!"

"Past the stars!"

"In your ear!" Meowth chimed in.

"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!" Jessie twirled.

"Dashing hope, putting fear in its place!" James smirked.

"A rose by any other name's just as sweet!"

"When everything's worse, our work is complete!"

"Jessie!"

"And it's James!"

"Meowth, now that's a name!" Meowth smiled.

"Putting the do-gooders in their place!" Jessie nodded.

"We're Team Rocket," James added.

"And we're in your face!" they all said.

"Wobbuffet!" Jessie's Pokemon popped out of its Pokeball.

"Hahahaha," Jessie laughed. "Your precious Linoone packs a powerful punch, but it clearly doesn't belong to a low-life trainer like you!"

"Give Linoone back!" Sara called.

"Sorry, but no-can-do," Meowth smiled. "This Linoone belongs to us now."

"Didn't you have enough from yesterday!?" I growled.

"You might have been the one to save the world," James growled back. "But that doesn't mean anything!"

"We'll see about that!" I grabbed a Pokeball and threw it. "Mightyena, use Shadow Ball!"

Mightyena appeared and growled, looking up at Team Rocket. It opened its mouth and a black/purple sphere formed, getting bigger and bigger.

"When did that thing evolve!" Jessie exclaimed.

"It's scarier than I remember!" Meowth added.

"The last time we saw that Pokemon was when it was a tiny Poochyena," James observed.

"Fire!" I called and Mightyena shut its mouth, shooting the attack up at the balloon.

"This calls for drastic measures," Meowth grabbed a remote control and a big pink hand came out from the front of the basket. It turned into a fist and punched the Shadow Ball, sending it flying back.

"Skye, get out of the way!" Ash called and pulled me back, just in time to avoid the attack hitting me.

"Thanks," I breathed.

Ash grabbed a Pokeball and threw it. "Taillow, I choose you!"

Taillow appeared in the air and flapped its wings. "Taillow!" it said.

"Taillow, use Wing Attack on the balloon," Ash ordered.

Taillow nodded and flew up at the balloon.

"I don't think so!" Meowth smirked and pressed a button on his remote and the pink hand went to grab Taillow.

"I don't think so either!" Sara called throwing a Pokeball. "Skitty, use Swift!"

Skitty appeared and smiled. Then it opened its mouth and golden stars flew up into the sky. They hit the pink hand and it exploded, Taillow disappeared in the smoke.

"Taillow!" I heard it cry and I saw it fly out of the smoke and up to the balloon, its left wing shining white.

It struck the balloon and there was a huge hole cut into it. Air rushed out of the balloon and it started to come down.

"Taillow, quick, use Wing Attack on the net!" Ash called.

Taillow turned to the net and its right wing shone white. It struck and the net was dispatched from the basket and fell.

"Machop, grab Linoone!" Brawly threw a Pokeball and Machop appeared. It ran over to the falling Linoone and caught it, rushing back just as Team Rocket touched the ground.

Gary pulled the net off of Linoone and Bradly hugged his Pokemon.

"You're alright!" he exclaimed.

"That was a dirty trick!" I looked up at Team Rocket, Jessie looked the maddest. She threw two Pokeballs. "Seviper, Dustox!"

"Cacnea, you too!" James threw a Pokeball.

Three Pokemon appeared, Seviper looked the scariest. Cacnea turned around and hugged James.

"No, don't attack me!" James called. "Attack them with Needle Arm!"

"Seviper, you use Poison Tail!" Jessie ordered. "Dustox, you use Psybeam!"

"Skitty, use Assist!" Sara called.

Skitty smiled. "Skitty!" it said and waved its tail. In that same movement, I felt the ground shake and it started to break up.

"It's an earthquake!" James cried.

"It's just Skitty's attack," Sara snorted.

Seviper and Cacnea stopped in their tracks, unable to move further until the ground moved back together. Dustox, the Flying Pokemon, was unaffected. It flew towards us.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called.

Pikachu ran forward and stopped. "Pika-CHUUUUUUUU!!!!!!" it cried and electricity flew from its body.

It hit Dustox and electrocuted it, making it fall back.

"Pachirisu, I choose you!" Sara called and threw a Pokeball, her Pachirisu appeared with a big smile.

"Chippa!" it said.

"Pachirisu, use Discharge!" Sara ordered. "On Dustox!"

Pachirisu turned and looked at Dustox. "Chippa!!!" it cried and a blue light came off it, many streaks of it. It hit Dustox directly and Dustox fell on top of Jessie.

Skitty's Earthquake attack wore off and Seviper and Cacnea came at us.

"Mightyena, use Crunch!" I commanded.

"Machop, use Karate Chop!" Brawly ordered.

Mightyena bit down on Seviper's neck and Machop used its fists to swing at Cacnea, landing many blows.

"Seviper, use Poison Tail!" Jessie called frustratingly.

Seviper swung its tail at Mightyena and hit it in the head, sending it flying back towards me.

Ash growled. "Taillow, Wing Attack!"

Taillow, who was circling in the air, came down and struck Seviper again and again.

Seviper and Cacnea were thrown back onto Jessie, James and Meowth and me and Ash exchanged a glance.

We both nodded and threw our arms forward, pointing. "Sparky!" I called.

"Pikachu!" Ash added.

"Use Volt Tackle!" we yelled.

Sparky and Pikachu ran forward, white light streaming out behind them, electricity sparking at their cheeks. "Pika, Pika, Pika," they growled and they were suddenly engulfed in electricity. "Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika!" They reached Team Rocket. "Pika-A!" they hit perfectly and there was an explosion and Team Rocket, with their Pokemon and balloon, were sent flying into the air.

"Looks like we're blasting off again!" they cried and they were gone.

We all breathed with relief, Bradly looked happy. "Thanks so much for rescuing Linoone."

"It was nothing," I smiled and Sparky jumped up onto my shoulder, Mightyena stood beside me. Taillow flew back and landed on Ash's shoulder, Pikachu jumped up on his other shoulder. Machop stood proudly beside Brawly, copying his stance; arms crossed with a big smile. Pachirisu and Skitty jumped around Sara happily. Gary just stood there, not minding having done nothing.

"Yeah, it's normal for us to get rid of Team Rocket," Sara grinned. "I love watching them blast off."

"But they always come back again," Ash mumbled.


End file.
